Seoul shares open higher on steel, financial gains

SEOUL, Dec. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks started higher Friday as investors
snapped up steel and financial shares, shrugging off overnight falls in U.S.
markets, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 15.68 points, or
1.56 percent, to 1,022.22 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
U.S. stocks closed sharply lower Thursday as dismal economic data pointed to a
deepening of the economic recession. The Dow Jones industrial average declined
2.51 percent and the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index fell 3.14 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,479.05 to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m.,
down 2.05 won from Thursday's close.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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