Seoul shares up 1 pct in late morning trade

SEOUL, Nov. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks rose 0.99 percent higher late
Friday morning as investors took comfort from Wall Street gains, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 10.74 points to
1,099.18 as of 11:20 a.m.
"The local stock market got off to a brisk start following U.S. gains, but the
KOSPI pared earlier gains on institutional and foreign selling," said Bae
Sung-young, an analyst at Hyundai Securities Co. "The Seoul bourse is expected to
move sideways for the time being amid high volatility."
As soon as the market opened, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, the
world's No. 3 shipbuilder, jumped by the daily limit of 15 percent on reports
that the state-run lender Korea Development Bank had reached a preliminary
agreement with Hanwha Group over the terms of the stake sale for the shipyard.
U.S. stocks gained ground Thursday after volatile trading on the back of bargain
hunting. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 6.67 percent and the
tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index soared 6.5 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,393.75 to the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m.,
down 2.25 won from Thursday's close.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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