SEOUL-- South Korean stocks traded sharply higher late Tuesday morning as investor sentiment received a big boost from another record on Wall Street.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 46.85 points, or 1.57 percent, to 3,025.79 as of 11:20 a.m.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.26 percent to finish the trading day at a record high, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 0.63 percent, also a closing record.
Also, better-than-expected data on U.S. manufacturing growth released Monday by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) seemed to have a positive impact on investor sentiment.
The local stock market rose across the board. Tech, chemical and pharmaceutical shares won big.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. added 3 percent to 72,000 won, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. increased 1.41 percent to 108,000 won, and top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. advanced 1.2 percent to 210,500 won.
LG Chemical, South Korea's leading chemical company, gained 1.2 percent to 842,000 won.
Pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics inched up 0.69 percent to 880,000 won, and battery maker Samsung SDI increased 1.8 percent to 736,000 won.
The local currency was trading at 1,175.10 won against the U.S. dollar, up 1.4 won from the previous session's close.
Source: Yonhap News Agency