Seoul: South Korean stocks opened higher Friday, led by gains in tech and auto shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 11.54 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,632.90 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Wall Street had a mixed finish overnight. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.65 percent, and the S and P 500 climbed 0.41 percent, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.18 percent. In Seoul, tech and auto shares led the upbeat start. Chip giant SK hynix rose 2 percent, and Kakao, the operator of the largest mobile chat app KakaoTalk, advanced 0.13 percent. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor increased 0.31 percent and its sister company Kia went up 0.77 percent.
Energy shares also performed well as state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. mounted 1.98 percent and Korea Gas Corp. rose 0.97 percent. However, top-cap Samsung Electronics lost 0.35 percent, and leading battery maker LG Energy Solution dropped 2.77 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,395.2 won against the U.S. dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 2.5 won from the previous session.