Seoul shares open higher on eased US default woes

South Korean stocks began higher Friday, as fear of a U.S. default eased after the Republicans offered the White House a proposal to break the logjam in their negotiations, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shot up 18 points, or 0.9 percent, to 2,019.40 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Large-cap stocks gathered ground across the board, with Samsung Electronics rising 0.8 percent and Shinhan Financial Group climbing 1.4 percent. House Republicans proposed a bill to raise the federal debt limit in return for resuming negotiations on the partial government shutdown. That sent U.S. markets to their strongest rally on Thursday in nearly 10 months. However, after the closing bell, President Barack Obama rejected the plan, U.S. media reported. The Korean won was trading at 1,069.25 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m. on the Seoul market, up 4.35 won from Thursday\'s close.