(LEAD) Korean won hits 11-month high to dollar on foreign stock buying

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; UPDATES with more info from para 2)
SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean currency rose to a more than
11-month high against the U.S. dollar on Thursday as growing hopes for a global
economic recovery revived foreign investors' appetite for risk, dealers said.

The local currency closed at 1,204.8 won to the greenback, up 6.5 won or 0.54
percent from the previous session, the strongest level since Sept. 29, 2008. The
won climbed to as high as 1,204.5 won at one point.
"The global weakness of the dollar and share-buying by foreign investors
continued to put upward pressure on the local currency," said Jeon Seung-ji, a
currency analyst at Samsung Futures Inc. "But cautions of a possible intervention
put the brakes on the won's rise somewhat."
Continued purchasing of Seoul stocks by offshore investors lent firm support to
the Korean currency. Foreign investors' net buying reached 759.8 billion won
(US$630.7 million) on Thursday. They snapped up a net 908 billion won worth of
Seoul shares the day before, the largest amount since mid-October 2007.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 0.72 percent to
1,695.47, briefly touching the 1,700-mark for the first time since June 26 last
year.
Analysts said the Korean currency would likely continue to head upwards against
the greenback due to a revived appetite for risk among foreign investors, but its
ascent could be limited due to invtervention cautions.
"The 1,200-won level is likely to be sustained and the pace of the won's gain
will likely ease," Jeon said. "But if the level is broken, I think the Korean
unit could gain ground to the 1,160-range against the greenback."
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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