WRAP Asia markets open higher after US auto deal ADDS Japan

(22 Dec 2008) SHOTLIST Seoul 1. Pan from computer screen to stock board in background 2. Close-up of computer screen with Kospi index 3. Stock board with Kospi index 4. Tilt-up of stock board 5. Close up of stock board 6. Medium of employees in office 7. Close of computer screen 8. Wide of stock board 9. Close of stock board 10. Close of screen in Korea Exchange lobby with Kospi in Korean 11. Wide of Korea Exchange lobby Tokyo 12. Tilt down interior of Tokyo Stock Exchange 13. Employee sitting at computer console 14. Employees watching screens 15. Wide of trading floor, tilt up to stock board 16. Stocks changing on screens 17. Various of screen 18. Various of prices on ticker STORYLINE South Korean stocks opened higher on Monday as investors, heartened by a US auto aid package, picked up tech blue chips and automakers, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 13.52 points, or 1.14 percent, to 1,194.49 in the first 15 minutes of trading, Yonhap said. US stocks closed mixed on Friday, even as the government pledged to provide General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC with 13.4 (b) billion US dollars in short-term financing, and another 4 (b) billion US dollars at a later date. The decision to provide emergency help to carry the struggling industry into the new year comes after a 14 (b) billion US dollar bailout for the automakers failed to make it out of the Senate last week. The companies' cash flows have been dwindling to a slow trickle due to the weak economy, slumping sales and the credit crunch. The Dow Jones industrial average finished down about 25 points on Friday, but both the broader Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq composite indexes posted moderate advances, finishing higher for the second straight week in a row. Also on Monday, the local South Korean currency was trading at 1,291 to the US dollar as of 0915 (0015 GMT) down one won from Friday's close, according to Yonhap. Meanwhile, Japanese stocks gained on Monday morning in Tokyo after Japan's central bank cut its key interest rate for the second time in less than two months last Friday. The Nikkei 225 index rose 121.90 points, or 1.41 percent, to 8710,42 points in early trading. Last Friday, the Bank of Japan's policy board lowered the uncollateralised overnight call rate target to 0.1 percent from 0.3 percent. In its most bearish assessment of the economy this year, Bank of Japan cited the harsh impact of tumbling exports, weakening domestic demand and job losses. In addition, the Japanese government unveiled a budget proposal on Saturday that would, if approved, push spending to record levels as the government scrambled to battle an ever-deepening recession. The Finance Ministry's draft budget suggested a spending increase of 6.6 percent to 88.5 (t) trillion yen (990.9 (b) billion US dollars) for the next fiscal year - the biggest ever figure in an initial proposal. The world's second-largest economy fell into a recession in the third quarter and the signs since then point toward more misery ahead. The latest outlook by the Cabinet Office projected Japan's economy to shrink this fiscal year and manage only flat growth the following year. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...