Seoul shares up 0.24 pct in late morning

SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks rose 0.24 percent late Monday
morning on bargain hunting and Wall Street's gains during the previous session,
analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) edged up 2.61 points to
1,065.33 as of 11:20 a.m., after losing nearly 1 percent in earlier trading.
"Retail and foreign investors are buying beaten-down blue chips, taking a cue
from U.S. stock gains on Friday," Lim Dong-min, an analyst at Dongbu Securities,
said.
U.S. stocks closed up on Friday on hopes that the incoming government's economic
plan may resuscitate ailing confidence in the American economy. The Dow Jones
industrial average rose 1.17 percent while the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite
index rose 0.23 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,463.85 won to the U.S. dollar as of 11:20
a.m., up 5.15 won from Friday's close.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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