S. Korean stocks edge up late Friday morning

SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded higher Friday morning on the back of foreign buying.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 11.61 points, or 0.47 percent, to 2,484.67 as of 11:15 a.m.

Market kingpin Samsung Electronics was 1.85 percent up, and SK hynix, a major chipmaker, advanced 4.18 percent.

Korea Electric Power Corp., a state-run utility firm, rose 1.47 percent.

In contrast, Naver, the country's top Internet portal operator, shed 1.23 percent, and Hyundai Motor, the No. 1 automaker, remained flat.

No.1 steelmaker POSCO also traded 2.21 percent lower.

The local currency was trading at 1,133.05 won against the U.S. dollar, down 0.65 won from the previous session's close.

sam@yna.co.kr
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