South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Wednesday, cheered by the government's supplementary budget unveiled a day before to boost the slowing economy, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 8.19 points, or 0.43 percent to 1,930.40 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Tech and auto blue-chips drove up the main index, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics climbing 0.8 percent and Kia Motors, a smaller affiliate of Hyundai Motor, jumping 1.8 percent.
The South Korean government rolled out an extra budget worth 17.5 trillion won (US$15.7 billion), the largest since 2009, in a bid to revive the sluggish economy.
The local currency was trading at 1,113.55 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 1.65 won from Tuesday's close. (Yonhap News)
