SEOUL, South Korean stocks rose late Tuesday morning as institutions and foreign investors scooped up blue chips in line with overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index had risen 11.41 points, or 0.46 percent, to 2,512.06 as of 11:20 a.m. Overnight, U.S. stocks gained ground as investors looked ahead to scheduled earnings announcements by major companies and the Federal Reserve's rate decision meeting later this week. The SandP 500 climbed 0.8 percent to close at a fresh high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite both rose 0.6 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively. In Seoul, tech, chemical and steel stocks led the overall gains. Chipmaker SK hynix added 0.15 percent, and leading chemical company LG Chem jumped 3.06 percent. Leading steelmaker POSCO Holdings climbed 4.61 percent, and leading battery maker LG Energy Solution added 1.59 percent. Financial shares also gained momentum, with KB Financial rising 0.72 percent and Samsung Life up 1 .07 percent. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics, however, slipped 0.40 percent, and Hyundai Motor and Kia also fell 2.97 percent and 0.70 percent, respectively. The local currency was trading at 1,330.55 won against the U.S. dollar, up 5.15 won from the previous session's close. Source: Yonhap News Agency