Seoul: South Korean stocks pulled off a strong start Friday as investors were buoyed by overnight rallies on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) increased 29.45 points, or 0.93 percent, to 3,212.68 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
According to Yonhap News Agency, in the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.43 percent and the tech-savvy Nasdaq composite rose 0.09 percent to a new record high. Nvidia rose 0.7 percent and closed above the US$4 trillion valuation milestone for the first time in the world.
In Seoul, semiconductor shares led the upbeat start. Chip giant Samsung Electronics advanced 2.46 percent, and SK hynix, a key supplier to Nvidia, gained 2.53 percent. Battery makers were also strong as industry leader LG Energy Solution rose 0.55 percent and POSCO Future M jumped 3.78 percent.
Top mobile carrier SK Telecom climbed 1.08 percent and its rival KT added 2.67 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,372.35 won against the U.S. dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 2.05 won from the previous session.