Seoul shares soar 3.13% on eased Greek woes

South Korean stocks surged 3.13 percent on Friday, boosted by hopes Greece will abandon a controversial national vote on terms of a eurozone bailout package, analysts said. The local currency shot up against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index jumped 58.45 points to 1,928.41. Trading volume was heavy at 461.5 million shares worth 7.1 trillion won ($6.4 billion), with gainers far outnumbering losers 706 to 147.

“The referendum called by Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou will likely go up in smoke, helping the region move closer to solving its debt problem,” said Park Sung-hun, an analyst at Woori Investment & Securities Co.

On Monday, the Greek leader announced a plan to put the European rescue deal to a referendum, astonishing his European counterparts and causing a political backlash.

“Other global policy efforts are also shoring up investor sentiment. The surprise rate cut by the European Central Bank and possible support measures by the U.S. Federal Reserve are all positive factors,” said Park.

Shares gathered ground across the board, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics rising 3.93 percent to 1,005,000 won and LG Display soaring 8.14 percent to 23,250 won.

Refiners also closed bullish on hopes a rise in global oil costs would shore up their earnings. Industry leader SK Innovation surged 8.05 percent to 174,500 won and No. 3 player S-Oil jumped 6.47 percent to 123,500 won.

Other blue-chip exporters also lent support with top carmaker Hyundai Motor rising 3.03 percent to 238,000 won.

In contrast, LG Electronics ended in the red after confirming a 1.06 trillion won rights offering plan. Shares of the world’s No. 3 handset maker slipped 0.81 percent to 61,100 won after tumbling nearly 14 percent in the previous session.

The local currency closed at 1,110.7 won against the greenback, up 19.2 won from Thursday’s close, as waning worries over the eurozone debt crisis stoked investor appetite for riskier assets, dealers said. 

(Yonhap News)