Seoul shares up 1.78 pct in late morning

SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded 1.78 percent higher late
Friday morning as investors picked up construction and shipping shares, analysts
said.

Reversing earlier losses, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI)
rose 18.75 points to 1,073.54 as of 11:20 a.m.
Most large-cap shares traded higher, with construction, shipping and shipyard
shares driving the turnaround. Consumption-sensitive department stores also
turned positive on bargain hunting.
The upturn came despite overnight Wall Street pullbacks on declines in health
care issues. On Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average declined 1.22 percent,
and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 2.38 percent.
The won was trading 1,519.9 won to the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., down 2.4 won
from Thursday's close.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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