Seoul shares up 1.18 pct in late morning

SEOUL, April 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded 1.18 percent higher late
Friday morning as financial shares were lifted by eased woes about the health of
the U.S. banking sector, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 15.55 points to
1,331.5 as of 11:20 a.m.
"After expectations rose that all 19 of the biggest banks in the U.S. will likely
pass a stress test, local financial stocks gained ground," said Bae Sung-young,
an analyst at Hyundai Securities Co. "As overall corporate earnings reports by
Korean companies are not likely to be worse than expected, I think the Seoul
bourse still seems to have an upward momentum."
South Korean companies' first-quarter earnings season is set to kick off later in
the day, led by top steelmaker POSCO.
U.S. shares surged to a two-month high Thursday after banking giant Wells Fargo
reported higher-than-expected profits for the first quarter. The Dow Jones
industrial average soared 3.14 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 3.89
percent.
The Korean currency was trading at 1,324.05 won to the U.S. dollar as of 11:20
a.m., down 1.55 won from Thursday's close.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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