Seoul stocks over 1 pct higher Tues. morning on chips, battery gains

SEOUL, Nov. 1 (Yonhap) -- Seoul stocks traded more than 1 percent higher early Tuesday morning on gains in chips and battery shares.

The Korea Composite Stocks Price Index (KOSPI) had added 30.68 points, or 1.34 percent, to 2,324.29 as of 11:20 a.m.

Since opening higher, above the 2,300 mark, the KOSPI continued to advance as foreign and institutional investors snapped up stocks in the chips and battery sector.

Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics inched up 1.18 percent, and rival chip maker SK hynix added 0.73 percent.

Major chemical firm, LG Chem surged 6.23 percent on the back of better-than-expected third quarter results announced late Monday.

The battery sector gathered ground. Major battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 4.55 percent, while battery cell maker Samsung SDI added 0.81 percent. SK Innovation, which owns battery making affiliate SK On, jumped 4.34 percent.

The local currency had been exchanging at 1,423.1 won against the U.S. dollar, up 1.2 won from the previous session's close as of 11:20 a.m.

fairydust@yna.co.kr
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