Seoul shares up 1.71 pct in late-morning trade

SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks surged 1.71 percent higher late Monday morning as U.S. President Barack Obama announced an agreement to raise the federal debt limit, avoiding a default. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) soared 36.38 points to 2,169.59 as of 11:20 a.m. Investor sentiment got a boost from Obama's announcement that Democratic and Republican negotiators had reached a last-minute deal to raise the nation's debt ceiling and cut the federal deficit, boosting investor sentiment here. Exporters led the overall market gain. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics jumped 2.73 percent and the world's second-biggest chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor rallied 3.09 percent. Kia Motors, South Korea's No. 2 player, soared 3.75 percent, and top steelmaker POSCO rose 2.8 percent. The local currency was changing hands at 1,049.05 won to the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., up 5.05 won from Friday's close.