Seoul stocks open higher on recovery hopes

SEOUL, July 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Friday
as investors were encouraged by overnight U.S. gains and solid second-quarter
growth data, analyst said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 11.21 points, or
0.75 percent, to trade at 1,507.7 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Market confidence was buoyed by Wall Street gains on Thursday when the Dow Jones
industrial average shot up 2.12 percent on strong corporate results.
The Bank of Korea said earlier in the day that the economy grew 2.3 percent in
the April-June period from three months earlier, boosting hopes that the economy
is starting to take off.
The local currency was trading at 1,245.95 won to the U.S dollar, up 2.95 won
from Thursday's close.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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