Korean shares open higher on U.S. gains

Korean share prices opened slightly in the positive Wednesday following overnight gains on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.9 point, or 0.05 percent, to 1,889.20 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The index was trading 0.32 percent higher at 1894.31 points as of 10:23 a.m.

Overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average advanced 1.39 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 2.27 percent.

Large caps traded mixed. Samsung Electronics was trading 0.86 percent higher, while top automaker Hyundai Motor and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors were up 2.48 percent and 0.95 percent, respectively. Cosmetics giant AmorePacific was down 3.28 percent.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)