Seoul shares open higher on institutional buying

SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks started higher Wednesday as
institutional investors snapped up shares across the board, shrugging off
overnight falls in U.S. markets, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 15.77 points, or
1.43 percent, to 1,121.61 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
U.S. stocks tumbled Tuesday as weaker earnings reports chilled investor
sentiment. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 2.72 percent and the
tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index declined 1.55 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,440.7 to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up
6.3 won from Tuesday's close.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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