Seoul shares rebound from previous day's plunge

SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened higher Friday as investors
picked up oversold shares following a plunge the day before that was promoted by
growing economic recession fears, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 16.78 points or
1.38 percent to 1,230.56 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
The rebound came after the index lost 9.44 percent the previous day on concerns
that the ongoing financial crisis could lead to a worldwide economic recession.
Overnight U.S. gains also boosted market sentiment here. The Dow Jones industrial
average closed up 4.68 percent and the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index also
advanced 5.49 percent.
The local currency market continued to undergo high volatility. The currency was
trading 53 won higher at 1,320 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m. This marks
a reversal from the previous day's 133.5 won plunge, the biggest drop in almost
11 years.