Seoul shares up 1.92 pct in late-morning trade

SEOUL, Aug. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded 1.92 percent higher late Tuesday morning, boosted by firm gains in exporters and construction firms, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) soared 32.8 points to 1,743.5 as of 11:21 a.m. Blue-chip exporters led the climb with market bellwether Samsung Electronics climbing nearly 4 percent and top chemical firm LG Chem rising more than 5 percent. Construction firms also traded higher on optimism they may benefit from reconstruction efforts in Libya. Top builder Hyundai Engineering & Construction surged nearly 6 percent. Institutions beefed up their holdings, but foreigners and retail investors opted to pocket profits. The local currency was trading at 1,082.75 won to the greenback as of 11:21 a.m., up 1.05 won from Monday's close.