Seoul shares rally 1.22 pct on new Greek bailout

(ATTN: ADDS bond yields at bottom) SEOUL, July 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks finished 1.22 percent higher Friday, led by oil refiners, as investors were relieved after European leaders reached an agreement on a new aid plan for Greece, analysts said. The local currency climbed against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 26.19 points to a two-week high of 2,171.23. Trading volume was moderate at 407 million shares worth 7.24 trillion won (US$6.86 billion) with gainers leading losers 586 to 244. "The new bailout plan in Europe boosted investor sentiment," said Kwak Joong-bo, an analyst at Samsung Securities Co. "Although foreign investors held back buying in the morning session, they picked up more shares towards the end of the session." On Thursday evening, leaders of France and Germany agreed to come up with a second bailout plan for Greece to prevent its debt crisis from spreading to Spain or Italy. Foreign investors switched to net buyers after an eight-session selling streak, adding a net 160.4 billion won worth. Oil refiners bounced back from a recent slump as the recent increase in electricity demand raised its profit outlook. Leading refiner SK Innovation climbed 2.65 percent to 213,000 won and S-Oil spiked 6.97 percent to 153,500 won. Kia Motors, the second-largest carmaker, rose 3.07 percent to 77,300 won after its management and labor union reached a wage deal without a strike for a second straight year. Its bigger affiliate Hyundai Motor advanced 1.5 percent to 236,500 won. Blue-chip tech exporters were mixed. LG Display sank 2.64 percent to 29,450 won after the company said the panel industry is unlikely to recover from the downturn until early 2012. The company reported a third straight quarterly loss on Thursday. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics, however, rose 0.95 percent to 850,000 won. The local currency closed at 1,051.9 won to the greenback, up 2.7 won from Thursday's close, as overseas investors increased share holdings, dealers said. Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasuries added 0.04 percentage point to 3.79 percent and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds rose 0.03 percentage point to 3.98 percent.