N. Korea's rocket launch to have limited impact on Seoul bourse: analysts

SEOUL, April 5 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's long-range rocket launch is likely to
have a limited effect on the South Korean stock market although it could increase
volatility in the short term, analysts said Sunday.
The Korean government confirmed that North Korea launched what it claims is a
communications satellite at 11:30 a.m. although it was too early to call the
launch a success.
Analysts said the rocket launch will not likely have a grave impact on the Seoul
bourse in the long term as the markets, which are accustomed to geopolitical
risks stemming from the North's military threats, have already factored in the
news.
"As chances are slim that South Korea and the United States would take military
actions, the North's rocket launch itself would have a limited impact on the
Seoul bourse," said Sung Jin-kyung, a market analyst at Daishin Securities Co.
The country's benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained ground
recently to breach the 1,200-point level, as foreign investors snapped up local
stocks.
The previous responses of the stock market to military threats by the North give
some support to the analysts' prediction.
The KOSPI closed a tad lower on July 5 2006 when the communist country test-fired
six medium and long-range missiles that landed off the west coast of Japan.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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