Seoul shares up 4.5 pct on hopes of crisis solution

(ATTN: ADDS bond yields at bottom)
SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korean shares soared more than 4.5 percent Friday on an overnight Wall Street rally prompted by hopes that the U.S. authorities may propose new measures to prevent a financial meltdown, analysts
said. The local currency gained against the greenback.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) soared 63.36 points, or
4.55 percent, to 1,455.78. Volume was heavy at 445.3 million shares worth 7.69
trillion won (US$6.75 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 707 to 135.
The Korea Exchange, the nation's bourse operator, temporarily suspended program
selling in the morning due to volatile futures prices.
"A series of news reports, such as the U.S. government's reported plan to absorb
bad debts and the Chinese central bank's measures to stabilize its stock market,
provided momentum," said Kwak Jung-bo, an analyst at Hana Daetoo Securities.
U.S. stocks rallied Thursday on a CNBC news report, citing congressional aides,
that said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was considering creating an entity to
absorb banks' bad debt. The Dow Jones industrial average soared 3.86 percent and
the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index advanced 4.78 percent.
Steel and shipyard shares led the overall sharp gains. Top steelmaker POSCO
advanced 8.73 percent to 454,500 won and Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's
leading shipbuilder, soared 9.92 percent to 271,500 won.
Export-driven shares were also buoyed, with tech behemoth Samsung Electronics
driven up 7.93 percent to 558,000 won and Hyundai Motor, the nation's largest
automaker, adding 4.48 percent to end at 70,000 won.
Most financials also ended in positive territory. Top lender Kookmin Bank surged
7.09 percent to 55,900 won and brokerage giant Mirae Asset & Securities climbed
4.3 percent to 97,000 won. Korea Exchange Bank, however, plummeted 10.28 percent
to 11,350 won after HSBC Holdings said it has scrapped its deal to take over the
Korean lender.
The local currency closed at 1,139.7 won to the U.S. dollar, up 13.6 won from
Thursday's close, as foreign investors shored up the won to buy stocks in the
local bourse, dealers said.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, gained sharply. The return on
three-year Treasuries lost 0.09 percentage point to 5.8 percent and the benchmark
yield on five-year government bonds also tumbled 0.1 percentage point to 5.85
percent.