Seoul stocks open up on Wall Street rallies

SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks started higher Thursday as
investor sentiment was boosted by overnight rallies in U.S. markets, analysts
said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 15.66 points, or
1.35 percent, to 1,173.64 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Most large-cap shares opened in positive territory with banks and tech shares
driving the upswing.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks rallied on expectations of a US$825 billion stimulus
package. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 2.46 percent and the
tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index soared 3.55 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,367 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m.,
up 9.1 won from Wednesday's close.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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