Seoul shares soar late Wed. morning on U.S. stock gains

South Korean stocks rallied over 1.8 percent late Wednesday morning as institutions and foreign investors shored up blue chips across the board following overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed up 49.62 points, or 1.89 percent, to 2,672.64 as of 11:20 a.m. Overnight on Wall Street, the S andP 500 rose 1.2 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.59 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.69 percent, as tech heavyweights lifted the broader U.S. stock market. In Seoul, most blue chips advanced. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics surged 3.58 percent and chip rival SK hynix surged 5.09 percent. Battery shares and energy shares also gained traction. Leading battery company LG Energy Solution rose 2.7 percent and top refiner SK Innovation added 1.48 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,368.4 won against the greenback, up 9.9 won from the previous session's close. Source: Yonhap News Agency