Seoul: South Korean shares opened higher on Wednesday, driven by gains in major technology stocks, despite recent losses on Wall Street as hopes for a U.S.-Iran peace deal diminished.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) started the day 1.47 percent higher and was up 149.19 points, or 2.35 percent, at 6,494.71 as of 9:15 a.m. This uptick came amidst growing investor pessimism regarding a potential peace agreement to stabilize the Middle East. Concerns were sparked after Iran's newly appointed secretary of the Supreme National Security Council announced that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed unless Washington changed its stance and adhered to Tehran's conditions to end the conflict.

Meanwhile, on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a 0.34 percent decline, the SandP 500 fell by 0.32 percent to 7,728.2, and the Nasdaq composite dropped by 0.60 percent.

In the Seoul market, most large-cap shares showed positive performance. Samsung Electronics, a key player, saw a rise of 4.18 percent, while its competitor SK hynix increased by 3.02 percent. SK Square, the parent company of SK hynix, surged 6.35 percent, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics, an affiliate of Samsung Electronics focusing on electronic components, went up by 3.88 percent.

The Korean won traded at 1,414.2 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., marking a decrease of 1.2 won from the previous day's close of stock trading.