South Korea's main stock index hit an intraday record high after almost two years late Tuesday morning, thanks to gains in most large-cap stocks.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 22.13 points, or 1.03 percent, to 2,179.14 as of 11:20 a.m.

It was the first time since April 2015 that the KOSPI traded above 2,170 points.

Most large caps traded higher with market kingpin Samsung Electronics adding 1.62 percent, and global chipmaker SK hynix up 0.11 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor jumped 6.07 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors traded 3.78 percent higher.

In contrast, POSCO, the No. 1 steelmaker, fell 0.84 percent.

Naver, the operator of the country's top Internet portal, advanced 4.77 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,116.20 won against the US dollar, up 3.9 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)