Seoul shares up in late morning trading

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean stocks extended gains late morning on Sept. 13 on the back of eased worries about a possible US rate hike and rebound in the shares of market kingpin Samsung Electronics, analysts said.

The benchmark KOSPI gained 8.49 points, or 0.43 percent, to 1,999.97 as of 11:20 a.m.

Samsung Electronics jumped 5.05 percent following big losses in the previous session.

SK Innovation, the nation’s largest refiner, also increased 1.90 percent.

Auto shares were mixed, with leading automaker Hyundai Motor inching up 0.36 percent, and its sister company Kia Motors shedding 1.23 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,110.20 won against the US dollar, up 3.30 won from the previous session’s close.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)