Seoul stocks end up 1.14 pct on U.S. gains

(ATTN: UPDATES comments in 3rd para; ADDS bond yields at bottom)
SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks closed 1.14 percent higher
Thursday as overnight gains on Wall Street overshadowed worries about the
economy's worst performance in a decade, analysts said. The local currency fell
against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 12.62 points to
1,116.23. Volume was moderate at 341.64 million shares worth 4.21 trillion won
(US$3.06 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 517 to 290.
"Financials got a big boost as U.S. financial stocks, including Citigroup, Bank
of America and J.P Morgan, skyrocketed 20 to 30 percent," said Lee Chang-wook, an
analyst at Mirae Asset Securities.
U.S. Stocks bounced back strongly Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial
average soaring 3.51 percent and the Nasdaq composite index jumping 4.6 percent.
The Bank of Korea said earlier in the day that the nation's gross domestic
product shrank 5.6 percent last quarter from three months earlier, the biggest
quarterly decline since the first quarter of 1998.
KB Financial Group, which controls top lender Kookmin Bank, soared 4.21 percent
to 33,450 won. Shinhan Financial Group gained 1.89 percent to end at 27,000 won.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics advanced 2.79 percent to close at 461,000
won, leading the key index higher.
However, other tech blue chips lost ground on lingering concerns over slow market
demand and intensified competition, with LG Electronics losing 3.72 percent to
72,500 won and Hynix losing 5.59 percent to 7,430 won.
The local currency ended at 1,378 won to the dollar, down 5 won from Wednesday's
close, as local companies bought the greenback to settle import bills, dealers
said.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The return on
three-year Treasuries closed steady at 3.39 percent, while the benchmark yield on
five-year government bonds dropped 0.01 percentage point to 4.50 percent.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
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