Seoul shares extended gains late Monday morning on hopes for a rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve and robust earnings from major tech firms this week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 34.33 points, or 1.26 percent, to 2,766.23 as of 11:20 a.m. All eyes are on the U.S. central bank's future policy decision and earnings results by Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. The Fed is expected to cut rates as early as in September. Institutions and foreigners bought a combined 293 billion won (US$212 million) worth of stocks, offsetting individuals' stock selling valued at 252 billion won. In Seoul, tech and auto stocks led gains. Market behemoth Samsung Electronics Co. rose 0.6 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. climbed 1.3 percent, top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. jumped 4.7 percent, and leading auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis Co. was up 1.8 percent. Among decliners, Hanjin KAL Corp., the parent firm of Korean Air Co., fell 0.2 percent, shipbuilder Hanwha Oce an Co. declined 3.2 percent, and battery maker Samsung SDI Co. was down 0.7 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,380.95 won against the U.S. dollar, up 4.85 won from the previous session. Source: Yonhap News Agency