Seoul - Shares finished almost 4 per cent higher Friday on the Seoul stock exchange as South Korea's central bank cut interest rates. The local currency edged up against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi index rose 42.27 points, or 3.9 per cent, to close at 1,134.49.

Advancing issues outnumbered losers 685 to 171.

The main index of the technology-heavy Kosdaq market surged 13.58 points to 325.54.

Earlier in the day, the Bank of Korea lowered the key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 4.0 per cent in a bid to calm markets and boost the economy.

Seoul - South Korea's central bank Friday lowered its key interest rate for the third time in less than a month, saying the cut was made necessary by a persisting domestic economic slowdown.

The Bank of Korea's fiscal policy committee decided to cut the benchmark seven-day repo rate by 0.25 per cent to 4 per cent. The cut comes after a dramatic 75-basis-point cut in late October which followed a cut by 25 basis points earlier that month.

Seoul - US president-elect Barack Obama vowed to closely cooperate with South Korea on achieving the nuclear disarmament of communist North Korea, the presidential office in Seoul said Friday.

Obama promised South Korean President Lee Myung Bak in a telephone conversation to further strengthen the alliance between their two countries. The incoming US president referred to the Seoul-Washington relationship as a "cornerstone of peace and stability in Asia," Lee's office said.

The two leaders also agreed to closely cooperate in dealing with the global financial crisis.

Seoul - Shares crashed Thursday on the Seoul stock exchange a

Seoul - Shares surged for the fi