Seoul stocks open higher on US gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 5.66 points, or 0.19 percent, to 3,034.7 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite added 0.71 percent to 15,129 points on hopes of strong corporate earnings, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.56 percent to 35,457 points.

South Korea's new virus cases stayed below 2,000 for the 12th consecutive day Wednesday amid rising vaccination.

As of Wednesday, 66.7 percent of the 52 million population were fully vaccinated and 78.9 percent had received their first shot.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics and leading carmaker Hyundai Motor traded flat at 70,600 won and 209,000 won, respectively.

No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix lost 0.51 percent to 97,200 won.

Among gainers, car battery firm LG Chem jumped 3.49 percent to 860,000 won, and internet portal operator Naver rose 1.1 percent to 412,000 won. Bio heavyweight Samsung Biologics added 1.38 percent to 880,000 won.

The local currency was trading at 1,177.3 won against the US dollar, up 1.4 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)