Seoul: South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday led by gains in semiconductor and auto shares despite overnight losses on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 21.48 points, or 0.67 percent, to 3,228.25 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
According to Yonhap News Agency, U.S. stocks ended lower Monday (U.S. time) ahead of key economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.45 percent and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.30 percent. In Seoul, large-caps led the upbeat opening. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 0.56 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix added 1.87 percent.
Top carmaker Hyundai Motor advanced 1.18 percent, and its sister Kia climbed 1.03 percent. Samsung Biologics, a major pharmaceutical firm, increased 0.29 percent, and KB Financial Group gained 1.24 percent. Gamemaker NCSOFT soared 10.86 percent on a better-than-expected earnings report.
The local currency was trading at 1,390.9 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., down 2.9 won from the previous session.