South Korean stocks traded nearly 1 percent higher late Tuesday morning thanks to bullish large-cap heavy industries and construction shares, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 19.54 points to 2,030.35 as of 11:20 a.m.
Samsung Heavy Industries, a major shipyard, surged more than 4 percent, with Daewoo Engineering & Construction hiking 4.3 percent.
But shares of telecom companies lost ground. LG Uplus, the smallest mobile carrier here, dipped 3 percent.
The local currency was changing hands at 1,056.05 won against the greenback as of 11:20 a.m., up 1.95 won from Monday's close. (Yonhap News)
