Seoul stocks open higher on US gains

South Korean shares opened higher Wednesday, tracking gains on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.03 point to 2,161.13 in the first 20 minutes of trading.

The main index tracked overnight gains on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.19 percent, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index climbing 0.07 percent.

Most large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.

Naver, the top Internet portal operator, gained 0.59 percent, and top steelmaker POSCO was up 1.82 percent.

Meanwhile, market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. fell 0.76 percent, and top automaker Hyundai Motor dropped 0.66 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,122.75 won against the US dollar, down 0.85 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)