Seoul stocks open higher on U.S. gains

SEOUL, April 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks got off to a strong start
Thursday, fueled by overnight Wall Street advances, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 21.33 points, or
1.73 percent, to 1,254.69 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
U.S. stocks gathered ground Wednesday on better home sales and manufacturing
activity in February, with the Dow Jones industrial average rising 2.01 percent
and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbing 1.51 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,362.2 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m.,
up 17.3 won from Wednesday's close.
pbr@yna.co.kr
(END)