Seoul:<Text>
South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Friday, rising more than 1 percent, despite overnight losses on Wall Street, as investors await remarks from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 32.14 points, or 1.02 percent, to 3,173.88 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
According to Yonhap News Agency, U.S. stocks declined overnight ahead of Powell's speech at the annual Jackson Hole economic policy symposium. The S&P 500 dipped 0.4 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.34 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite also fell 0.34 percent.
In Seoul, most large-cap shares opened higher. Chip giant Samsung Electronics went up 1.13 percent, and its rival SK hynix gained 1.12 percent after a five-day losing streak. Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace increased 4.32 percent.
In contrast, leading battery maker LG Energy Solution inched down 0.54 percent, and top automaker Hyundai Motor edged down 0.23 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,399.6 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., down 1.2 won from the previous session.