Seoul shares start higher on Wall Street gains

SEOUL, Sept. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks started more than 2 percent higher Friday as investor sentiment was lifted by overnight gains in U.S. markets, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 32.71 points, or 2.27 percent, to 1,475.95 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Most shares got off to a strong start, led by exporters and financial shares.
Tech bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 1.49 percent and top lender Kookmin Bank
advanced 3.11 percent.

U.S. stocks gained Thursday as reports that Bank of America may be in talks to
buy subprime-battered Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., while falling oil prices
boosted investor sentiment. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 1.46 percent
and the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index rose 1.32 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,106.2 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m.,
up 3.3 won from Thursday's close, shrugging off the government's decision to
delay its planned sovereign debt sale.

South Korea said earlier in the day it will postpone the proposed debt sale worth
US$1 billion in overseas markets, citing renewed financial woes surrounding
Lehman Brothers and heightened regional tensions over the health of North Korean
leader Kim Jong-il.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr

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