Seoul shares open higher on Wall Street gains

Published : Oct 10, 2024 - 09:40 Updated : Oct 10, 2024 - 09:40

An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Thursday. (Yonhap)

Seoul stocks opened higher Thursday thanks to overnight US stocks gains led by a decline in international oil prices and a rise in local tech stocks.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.46 percent, or 11.90 points, to 2,606.26 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, US stocks extended their gains thanks to a decline in global oil prices and gains in tech stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.03 percent, the S&P 500 gained 0.71 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite added 0.6 percent.

Automotive and bio shares led the overall gains, with Hyundai Motor rising 2.64 percent and Samsung Biologics up 1.99 percent.

Internet portal and financial shares also advanced. Top portal operator Naver jumped 2.59 percent, and Shinhan Financial added 1.99 percent.

No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix rose 3.82 percent but larger industry rival Samsung Electronics fell 1.33 percent. Leading battery company LG Energy Solution also shed 2.98 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,348.85 won against the US dollar, up 0.85 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)