Korean shares extend gains on foreign buying

South Korean shares extended gains late Monday morning as foreigners turned net buyers. The won traded higher against the dollar. 

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 14.48 points, or 0.61 percent, to 2,376.31 as of 11:20 a.m.

Foreigners were net buyers of local stocks worth 19.38 billion won ($17 million). They offloaded 163 billion won worth of stocks in the previous session. Institutions also bought 62.48 billion won worth of shares.

But individuals sold 92.87 billion won of stocks, keeping the main index from rising further. 

Most large cap stocks traded higher, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics advancing 1.76 percent and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gaining 3.31 percent. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor climbed 1.52 percent, and leading mobile carrier SK Telecom was up 1.65 percent.

Among losers, utility firm Korea Electric Power Corp. fell 1.04 percent, and leading cosmetics firm AmorePacific declined 2.04 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,129.35 won against the dollar, up 4.75 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)