Seoul shares surge on U.S. gains

SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Friday on Wall Street's steep gains prompted by hopes of a solution to the current financial upheaval, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 50.92 points, or 3.66 percent, to 1,443.34 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Brokerages, which suffered the most on Monday, led the overall gains. Industry leaders Mirae Asset & Securities and Samsung Securities climbed 6.56 percent and 6.11 percent, respectively. Other financials were also buoyed.

Tech exporters and shipyards also added ground. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics added more than 3 percent, while Hyundai Heavy Industries both gained nearly 7 percent.

U.S. stocks rallied Thursday following a report that the federal government might create 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.

The local currency was trading at 1,123.8 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 29.5 won from Thursday's close.