Seoul shares up 2.8 pct in late morning

SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded 2.8 percent higher late
Wednesday morning as institutional investors picked up blue chips across the
board despite Wall Street losses, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) surged 30.92 points to
1,136.76 as of 11:20 a.m.
"The Seoul bourse extended earlier gains on the back of gains of blue chips,"
said Park Suk-hyun, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities Co. "Retail
investors' futures buying reflected cautious expectations of a year-end rally."
Most shares traded in positive territory, despite overnight falls in U.S.
markets. Chip giant Hynix Semiconductor gained more than four percent on reports
that the chipmaker would get a lifeline from its creditor banks.
U.S. stocks tumbled Tuesday as weaker earnings reports chilled investor
sentiment. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 2.72 percent and the
tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index declined 1.55 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,426.5 won to the U.S. dollar as of 11:20
a.m., up 20.5 won from Tuesday's close.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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