Seoul shares jump on eased financial woes

SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Monday on eased financial woes, continuing their rally following a recent currency swap deal with the United States, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 25.95 points, or
2.33 percent, to 1,139.01 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
On Thursday, the Bank of Korea, the nation's central bank, announced that it had
reached an agreement with the Federal Reserve of the U.S. on a US$30 billion
currency swap aimed at thawing the frozen financial system here. The main index
jumped 144 points in the following two days.
The government is to unveil a wide range of economic stimulus measures later in
the day, aimed at shielding the economy from global financial turbulence.
The advance followed strong performances in U.S. stocks. On Friday, the Dow Jones
rose 1.57 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.32 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,303.5 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m.,
down 12.5 won from Friday's close.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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