South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday as the weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data for September supported the outlook that its central bank may delay tapering of its economic stimulus, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 5.62 points, or 0.27 percent, to 2,061.74 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Shares gathered ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics adding 0.41 percent and top steelmaker POSCO rising 0.94 percent. Leading chipmaker SK hynix gained 1.69 percent.
Builders also traded higher, with Hyundai Engineering & Construction moving up 0.65 percent and Daewoo Engineering & Construction advancing 1.85 percent. GS Engineering & Construction increased 0.66 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,057.70 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 3.10 won from Tuesday's close. (Yonhap News)
