Seoul stocks open slightly higher on tech, auto gains

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Thursday, led by advances in techs and autos.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 4.82 points, or 0.16 percent, to 3,017.95 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.43 percent to 35,609 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite slipped 0.05 percent to 15,121 points.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics edged up 0.14 percent to 70,400 won, while LG Chem shed 2.62 percent to 818,000 won.

Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.72 percent to 210,500 won, and its smaller affiliate Kia added 1.19 percent to 84,800 won. The country's top steelmaker POSCO climbed 0.81 percent to 312,000 won.

The local currency was trading at 1,175.55 won against the US dollar, down 1.35 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)