Seoul stocks up 0.8 pct in late morning

SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks trade 0.8 percent higher late
Tuesday morning as institutional buyers hunted for bargains, analysts said.

Bouncing back from opening losses, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price
Index (KOSPI) climbed 12.31 points to 1,559.37 as of 11:20 a.m.
"Following Monday's hefty losses, bargain-hunting by institutional investors
drove up the key index," said Lee Young, an analyst at IBK Securities.
Large-cap tech companies led the gains while financial shares traded in negative
terrain.
The local currency was trading at 1,253.75 won to the U.S. dollar as of 11:20
a.m., up 3.15 won from Monday's close.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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