Seoul stocks seen higher after Wall St rally

SEOUL, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Seoul stocks could extend gains on
Wednesday, with lenders such as Woori Financial Group (053000.KS)
in favour as a foreign capital injection into Merrill Lynch
helped ease concerns about the fallout from the subprime mortgage
crisis.

Merrill Lynch & Co Inc MER.N, hit by huge subprime mortgage
losses, said it would increase its capital with an investment
from Singapore's Temasek Holdings and Davis Selected Advisers,
sparking a rally on Wall Street. [ID:nN24311966]

Year-end window dressing and hopes of a pro-business
government under South Korea's president-elect Lee Myung-bak
could also help the local market sustain a recent rally, analysts
said.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose
2.19 percent to 1,919.47 points on Monday, rising for a second
straight session to its highest finish since Dec. 12.

The market was closed on Tuesday for Christmas.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2312 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 1496.45 0.81% 11.990
USD/JPY JPY= 114.34 0.22% 0.250
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 4.2144 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD XAU= 806.6 0.00% 0.000
US CRUDE CLc1 94.13 0.00% 0.820
DOW JONES .DJI 13549.33 0.73% 98.68
-------------------------------------------------------------

MARKETS SUMMARY

*Santa visits Wall St as Merrill deal lifts banks
[ID:nN24416108]

*Oil gains on tight US stocks, Mexico port closures
[ID:nSP287374]
*Yen rebounds on profit-taking in thin trade [ID:nT196425]

*Pre-Christmas stock rally sends bonds lower [ID:nN24320587]

STOCKS TO WATCH

- Hanwha Corp

Hanwha Corp (000880.KS) said late on Monday it would sell 38
million shares in unlisted Korea Life Insurance Co for 206.3
billion won ($219.6 million) to improve its financial structure.

- Hyundai Motor

Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) said on Monday it had named a
new executive to head its North American operations, capping a
year when it fell short of sales targets and saw its U.S. market
share stall. [ID:nN24316977]
(Reporting by Kim Soyoung; Editing by Sei Chong)