Seoul shares up late Wed. morning on techs

South Korean stocks traded higher late Wednesday morning as big-cap tech shares gained ground. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had added 17.82 points, or 0.68 percent, to 2,639.32 as of 11:20 a.m. Overnight, major U.S. indexes gained ground as softer producer price data boosted bets the Federal Reserve will start cutting its rates soon. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics advanced 1.58 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix soared 3.08 percent, tracking an overnight tech gain on Wall Street. Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution surged 2.88 percent to follow U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla's jump. Its smaller rivals, Samsung SDI and POSCO Future M, also climbed 1.9 percent and 2.93 percent, respectively. Steel giant POSCO Holdings rose 1.39 percent and top chemical producer LG Chem increased 2.43 percent. But auto shares were weak, with Hyundai Motor down 0.62 percent and Kia down 0.58 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,359.80 won against the U.S . dollar, up 10.6 won from the previous session's close. Source: Yonhap News Agency