South Korean stocks began higher Thursday on the back of optimistic economic data from the United States, analyst said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 9.19 points, or 0.45 percent, to 2,038.00 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Tech shares led the market gain, with Samsung Electronics adding 1.02 percent and its smaller local rival LG Electronics advancing 1.05 percent. Top chipmaker SK hynix climbed 0.87 percent.
Builders also traded bullish, with Hyundai Engineering & Construction adding 0.48 percent and Daewoo Engineering & Construction rising 0.71 percent. Daelim Industrial also moved up 0.71 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,063.75 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 2.65 won from Wednesday's close. (Yonhap News)
