[THE INVESTOR] South Korean shares turned higher late morning on Sept. 20, on increased foreign buying.

The benchmark KOSPI gained 0.27 points, or 0.01 percent, to 2,016.05 as of 11:20 a.m.

The broad index bucked overnight losses on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.02 percent, with the tech-heavy NASDAQ composite index declining 0.18 percent.

Analysts said the local stock market is likely to remain volatile until investors find the results of the US Federal Open Market Committee meeting due this week.

“Investors will take a wait-and-see attitude,” said Kim Ye-eun, an analyst at LIG Investment & Securities.

Large-cap stocks were mixed across the board. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 1.16 percent and top automaker Hyundai Motor was up 0.73 percent

Meanwhile, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix was down 0.51 percent and top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis lost 0.70 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,118.95 won against the US dollar, down 0.85 won from the previous session’s close.


(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)