Seoul Shares Surge Following U.S. Semiconductor Export Controls Against China.

Seoul: Seoul shares opened higher Tuesday, tracking gains in U.S. tech stocks after Washington announced a new semiconductor export control package targeting China. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shot up 29.74 points, or 1.21 percent, to 2,484.22 in the first 15 minutes of trading.According to Yonhap News Agency, overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.97 percent, and the S and P increased 0.24 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.29 percent. Seoul shares gained ground as the latest U.S. export curbs are expected to have only a limited impact on domestic chipmakers, such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, due to their minimal dependence on the Chinese market for affected chips.Top tech giant Samsung Electronics saw a rise of 1.31 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix moved up 1.26 percent. Financial shares also opened bullish, with KB Financial rising 2.59 percent and Shinhan Financial climbing 2.41 percent.The local currency was trading at 1,403.5 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., down 2.2 won from the previous session.