Seoul stocks up 0.46 pct in late morning

SEOUL, July 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded 0.46 percent higher late
Tuesday morning as investors picked up steel and tech shares, bolstered by
overnight rallies in U.S. markets, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 6.37 points to
1,384.49 as of 11:20 a.m., rebounding from a 3.53-percent plunge on Monday.
Steelmaking giant POSCO jumped over 3 percent on expectations that its business
will improve down the road after bottoming out in the second quarter. Hit by the
previous day's pullbacks, tech bellwether Samsung Electronics and smaller rival
LG Electronics both jumped on bargain hunting.
The rebound comes after Wall Street rallied Monday on eased anxiety over
financial instability. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 2.27 percent and
the tech-laden Nasdaq composite index also rose 2.12 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,298.9 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20
a.m., up 16.1 won from Monday's close.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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