Seoul shares open higher on Wall Street gains

SEOUL, May 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks started higher Thursday as investor
sentiment was lifted by overnight gains in U.S. markets, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 18.89 points, or
1.36 percent, to 1,412.34 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Bank shares started in positive territory. Korea Exchange Bank, controlled by
U.S. buyout fund Lone Star Funds, jumped more than 12 percent after the state-run
Korea Development Bank (KDB) expressed an interest in buying the bank.
U.S. stocks closed higher Wednesday as leaked results of stress tests on U.S.
banks showed that many banks do not need as much capital as expected. The Dow
Jones industrial average gained 1.21 percent and the tech-laden Nasdaq composite
index inched up 0.28 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,265.65 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15
a.m., up 11.35 won from Wednesday's close.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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