Seoul shares open higher on tech gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, fueled by gains in tech heavyweights amid lingering hopes for stimulus action by the U.S. Federal Reserve ahead of its chief's speech, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 1.56 points, or 0.08 percent, to 1,917.89 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Tech blue chips drove up the shares, with mobile phone maker LG Electronics climbing 1.75 percent and chipmaker SK hynix edging up 0.23 percent.

Market behemoth Samsung Electronics gained 1.34 percent, extending a gaining streak to two sessions since Monday's nosedive on the lawsuit loss to Apple Inc.

The local currency was trading at 1,134.45 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 2.2 won from Tuesday's close. (Yonhap News)