Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street rallies

SEOUL, July 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks started higher Thursday as
overnight rallies in U.S. markets prompted purchases in major shares here,
analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stocks Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 17.51 points, or
1.23 percent, to 1,438.37 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Most shares got off to a strong start, sending the main index higher. Shipyard
and financial shares were among the sharp climbers.
The rise comes after U.S. markets surged on brisk corporate earnings and
improving economic data Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 3.07
percent and the tech-laden Nasdaq composite index also gained 3.51 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,264.5 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15, up
14 won from Wednesday's close.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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