Seoul bourse to gain further momentum next week: analysts

SEOUL, March 28 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean stock market is expected to gain additional ground next week as eased woes over the global financial crisis and the won's continuing strength are likely to boost investor sentiment, analysts said Saturday.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed this week at
1,237.51, up 5.68 percent from the previous week.
The local market staged a rally this week, breaching the 1,200-point level,
largely on U.S. plans to remove bad assets off bank balance sheets and the won's
strength to the U.S. dollar, according to analysts.
On Monday, the U.S. government unveiled detailed plans to buy up to US$1 trillion
in toxic assets by forming partnerships with private investors in a bid to expand
bank lending and pull the world's largest economy out of a deepening recession.
The Korean currency rose 4.7 percent to the greenback this week alone on foreign
investors' stock buying.
"Major currencies in emerging markets are gaining strength to the dollar,
contributing to rises in stock markets," said Han Chi-whan, an analyst at Daewoo
Securities Co.
But some experts said it is too early to say whether the Seoul stock market will
see a sustained rise, as doubts about the timing of an economic recovery persist
and geopolitical risks stemming from North Korea's planned rocket launch are
weighing on investor sentiment.
Pyongyang said it will launch what it claims is a communications satellite
between April 4-8, but neighboring countries say that could be a cover to test a
Taepodong-2 missile, which can theoretically strike the western United States.
The South Korean economy grew 2.2 percent last year, sharply down from a 5.1
percent expansion in 2007, as exports tumbled and domestic demand shrank amid the
global economic slump, according to the central bank.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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