Seoul shares up on exporters, banks; LG Elec jumps

(Updates to mid-morning)

SEOUL, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Seoul shares rose 2.4 percent on Monday, with exporters such as LG Electronics Inc (066570.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) helped by strong sales at the start of the holiday shopping season in the United States, South Korea's No.2 export market.

Kookmin Bank (060000.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and other financials also gained on eased credit concerns after a media report said U.S. banks were progressing with a plan to relieve the credit market. [ID:nN23284981]

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) increased 2.43 percent to 1,815.96 as of 0114 GMT, after opening 1.74 percent higher.

"Higher sales on Black Friday confirmed U.S. consumer spending is relatively resilient, helping South Korean shares, which fell more than other Asian markets, outperform," said Jason Hwang, a strategist at Woori Investment and Securities.

The KOSPI has fallen 14.1 percent this month as of Friday, while Japan's Nikkei average .N225 lost 11 percent.

The lure of bargains trumped economic concerns at the start of the U.S. holiday shopping season, known as Black Friday. [ID:nN25365410]

LG Electronics, the world's top maker of household air conditioners, jumped 5.74 percent to 99,400 won.

Hynix Semiconductor Inc (000660.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world's second-largest memory chip maker, rose 1.98 percent to 23,150 won and its bigger rival, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), gained 0.18 percent to 558,000 won.