Seoul shares up 0.42 pct in late morning

SEOUL, Dec. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korean shares rose 0.42 percent late Thursday
morning on the central bank's drastic interest rate cut and overnight Wall Street
gains, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 4.82 points to
1,150.69 as of 11:20 a.m.
"The key index remained in positive territory, helped by the central bank's
larger-than-expected rate reduction and overnight U.S. gains," said Bae
Sung-yung, an analyst at Hyundai Securities.
Earlier in the day, the Bank of Korea reduced the benchmark interest rate by a
record 1 percentage point to 3 percent in an effort to keep global financial
turmoil from impacting the real economy.
U.S. stocks also edged up Wednesday as price surges in commodities bolstered
energy and material shares. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.81 percent
and the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index added 1.17 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,362.5 won to the U.S. dollar as of 11:20
a.m., up 31.3 won from Wednesday's close.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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