[THE INVESTOR] South Korean shares hiked late morning on Oct. 18, as foreigners and institutions scooped up local stocks.

The benchmark KOSPI rose 4.85 point, or 0.24 percent, to 2,032.46 as of 11:20 a.m.

The broad index bucked overnight losses on Wall Street.

“The South Korean stock market is expected to advance (throughout the day) despite a decline in the US equity market,” Seo Sang-young, a Kiwoom Securities analyst, said. “Although international oil prices hovered below US$50, the price drop was limited on expectations over an OPEC meeting in November.”

Large caps traded mixed, with market leader Samsung Electronics falling 0.25 percent.

The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. lost 0.19 percent, while leading automaker Hyundai Motor climbed 1.13 percent.

Chemicals were bullish following the news of a deadly explosion at the German chemical company BASF’s local facility.

LG Chem and Lotte Chemical gained 2.08 percent and 1.29 percent, respectively.

The local currency was trading at 1,133.95 won against the US greenback, up 3.95 won from the previous session’s close.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)