Seoul shares open higher on Wall Street gains

SEOUL, June 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean shares opened over 1 percent higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) surged 37.26 points, or 1.37 percent, to 2,765.43 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The bullish start follows overnight gains on Wall Street where the advances of tech shares, led by Apple, pushed the Nasdaq to a new high for the third consecutive session.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.09 percent to 37,712.21, but the Nasdaq jumped 1.53 percent to 17,608.44, while S&P 500 advanced 0.85 percent to a new high of 5,421.03.

Tech shares opened sharply up in Seoul, with industry leader Samsung Electronics soaring 2.22 percent, while the world's No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix increased 4.42 percent.

Most other large caps were in positive territory.

Top pharmaceutical firm Celltrion surged 1.76 percent, while leading battery maker LG Energy Solution jumped 1.28 percent.

Leading automaker Hyundai Motor gained 3.15 percent, with its smaller affiliate Kia Motors advancing 2.04 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,369 won against the U.S. dollar, up 7.2 won from the previous session's close.

bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)