Seoul shares rise on hopes of joint efforts

SEOUL, Oct. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks rose about 1.6 percent late Monday
morning, on hopes that leaders around the globe may soon join efforts to tackle
the financial turmoil together, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 20.28 points, or
1.63 percent, to 1,261.75 as of 11:20 a.m. The rebound came after the index lost
12.55 percent last week.
"The market is enjoying a breather, factoring in the G7 and G20 meetings over the
weekend in Washington as a positive sign," said Lim Dong-min, an analyst at
Dongbu Securities.
The G7 -- the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada --
met on Friday and then joined key emerging-market G20 nations for a meeting of
the Group of 20 on Saturday to discuss measures aimed at tackling the market
crisis.
Most large caps were in positive mood. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics
rose 0.77 percent and its smaller chip rival Hynix Semiconductor soared 8.22
percent. Top power generator producer Doosan Heavy Industries also advanced more
than 6 percent.
Financials also enjoyed gains on hopes for a combined financial rescue plan.
Woori Finance Holdings climbed 6.31 percent and leading brokerage Mirae Asset &
Securities also rose 1.48 percent.
Logistics equipment makers, however, lost marginally. Hyundai Heavy Industries,
the world's largest shipbuilder, fell 1.27 percent and Hyundai Motor, the
nation's top carmaker, lost 2.19 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,273.25 won to the U.S. dollar as of 11:20
a.m., up 35.75 won from Friday's close.