Seoul shares up over 1 pct late Mon. morning on tech rebound

South Korean stocks traded over 1 percent higher late Monday morning as blue chip shares gained ground following last week's rout. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had added 26.54 points, or 1.03 percent, to 2,614.97 as of 11:20 a.m. Major U.S. indexes finished higher Friday following a rout as recession woes diminished thanks to better-than-expected unemployment data. Investors' eyes are now on the U.S. consumer price, producer price and retail sales data due out later this week. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics increased 1.2 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix shot up 4.26 percent. Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 1.4 percent, and its smaller rival Samsung SDI jumped 2.1 percent. Major biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion also soared 3.06 percent. But auto and IT shares were mixed. Top automaker Hyundai Motor climbed 0.41 percent, but its smaller affiliate Kia lost 0.29 percent. Internet portal operator Naver shed 1.77 percent, while Kakao, the operator of the country's dominant mobile messenger, rose 0.68 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,365.40 won against the U.S. dollar, down 0.8 won from the previous session's close. Source: Yonhap News Agency