Seoul stocks open 0.81 pct higher on U.S. gains, earnings hopes

SEOUL, Oct. 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Tuesday,
buoyed by overnight Wall Street gains and upbeat earnings hopes at home, analysts
said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 12.94 points, or
0.81 percent, to trade at 1,619.84 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Most key sectors opened sharply higher as investors cheered U.S. rallies on
Monday. Dow Jones industrial Average rose 1.18 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq
climbed 0.98 percent, bolstered by upbeat service industry data.
Local market leader Samsung Electronics added to the optimism by reporting 4.1
trillion won (US$3.5 billion) in consolidated earnings guidance for the
third-quarter, the largest bottom-line on record.
The local currency was trading at 1,169.7 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m.,
up 4 won from Monday's close.
pbr@yna.co.kr
(END)

De