Seoul shares gain 3.8 pct on institutional, foreign buying

SEOUL, Nov. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded 3.78 percent higher late
Wednesday morning as institutional and foreign investors picked up beaten-down
shares, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 37.18 points to
1,020.5 as of 11:20 a.m.
"Following the U.S. Federal Reserve's US$800 billion rescue plans, investors
snapped up beaten-down bank shares," said Park Suk-hyun, an analyst at Eugene
Investment & Securities Co. "But a batch of U.S. economic data reinforced
concerns over a global recession. This may limit a possible upturn of the Seoul
stock market."
Foreign investors snapped up a net 63.5 billion won ($42.3 million) worth of
local stocks on the Seoul bourse, becoming net buyers for the first time in four
sessions. The Fed unveiled a rescue plan on Tuesday to buy mortgage-backed assets
and help boost lending for consumers.
U.S. stocks closed mixed Tuesday as investors were heartened by the Fed's plan,
but dismal economic data weakened sentiment. The Dow Jones industrial average
added 0.43 percent while the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index shed 0.5
percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,501.25 to the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m.,
up 1.05 won from Tuesday's close.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr