Seoul shares sharply up late Wed. morning on large cap gains

SEOUL, South Korean shares traded higher late Wednesday morning, buoyed by large cap gains. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 40.98 points, or 1.59 percent, to 2,617.18 as of 11:20 a.m. The index had opened slightly higher tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. Institutions were net buyers following a two-day selling streak, while foreign investors also remained net purchasers of local stocks as of 11:20 a.m. Most large caps were in positive terrain. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics added 0.94 percent, while leading chemicals producer LG Chem advanced 1.73 percent. Top battery market LG Energy Solution surged 3.71 percent, with its local rival Samsung SDI spiking 4.95 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,324.60 won against the U.S. dollar, up 3.0 won from the previous session's close. Source: Yonhap News Agency