Seoul shares open higher on Wall Street gains

SEOUL, March 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks got off to a strong start
Wednesday as investor sentiment was bolstered by overnight rallies in U.S.
markets, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 30.03 points, or
2.75 percent, to 1,122.23 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Most shares opened in positive territory, led by financial and tech shares. U.S.
stocks rallied Tuesday as a better earnings outlook for beleaguered Citigroup
raised hopes for a recovery of the banking sector. The Dow Jones industrial
average jumped 5.8 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq soared 7.07 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,492.5 to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up
19 won from Tuesday's close.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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