Seoul stocks open sharply higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street led by tech shares on eased inflation concerns.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 36.3 points, or 1.22 percent, to 3,012.42 points in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 3.7 percent to 13,073.82, its largest one-day gain since Nov. 4, after the yield on the US 10-year Treasury note fell. The S&P 500 advanced 1.4 percent to 3,875.44, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1 percent to 31,832.74.

In Seoul, large caps got off to a strong start.

Market kingpin Samsung Electronics rose 1.23 percent, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gained 1.83 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor advanced 0.86 percent, while leading chemical firm LG Chem surged 5.69 percent.

Pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics jumped 1.75 percent, while Celltrion climbed 2.96 percent.

However, the country's largest steelmaker Posco plunged 3.79 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,137.3 won to the US dollar, up 3.0 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)