Seoul shares up 5.55 pct on Wall Street gains

SEOUL, Nov. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened 5.55 percent higher Tuesday
as institutions and foreign investors snapped up large-cap shares, emboldened by
overnight Wall Street rallies, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) surged 53.84 points to
1,023.98 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
The Korea Exchange, the nation's bourse operator, suspended program trading for
five minutes after the main index futures prices rose more than 5 percent. It was
the 23rd such emergency break imposed this year.
U.S. stocks closed sharply higher on Monday after the government unveiled a
bailout plan for struggling banking giant Citigroup. The Dow Jones industrial
average jumped 4.93 percent and the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index rose
6.33 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,483.65 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15
a.m., up 29.35 won from Monday's close.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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