[THE INVESTOR] South Korean shares opened higher on July 1, continuing a rally into the fifth day on eased anxiety over Brexit.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 13.86 points, or 0.70 percent, to 1,984.21 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
After shedding 3.09 percent on June 24 when the Bexit vote was officially announced, the main index rebounded this week to recover the loss.
Investors appear to have been relieved by concerted efforts promised by governments and central banks worldwide to minimize the post-Brexit market turmoil through fiscal stimulus packages and monetary easing steps, analysts said.
Early this week, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan were quick to say they are ready to inject more funds into markets should they be needed. Korea announced a 20 trillion won (US$17.4 billion) plan to ease uncertainties and support growth.
On June 30, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 63.43 points, or 1.33 percent, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index also climbing 1.11 percent.
Major large-cap stocks advanced across the board.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 1.33 percent, leading cosmetics maker AmorePacific gained 1.52 percent, and top automaker Hyundai Motor was up 0.74 percent.
Among decliners, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix fell 0.46 percent and the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. slid 0.66 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,151.25 won against the US dollar, up 0.55 won from the previous session’s close.
(
theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)
