Seoul shares open higher on extended foreign buying
South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, set for a weeklong rally, on the back of a foreign buying binge amid uncertainties.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 16.71 points, or 0.57 percent, to 2,923.75 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
The KOSPI had risen for a sixth consecutive session to hit a three-year high the previous session.
Overnight, Wall Street closed lower amid heightened security risks in the Middle East seen in the United States' plan to partially evacuate its embassy in Iraq and an absence of details on the US-China trade negotiations held earlier this week.
High-level officials from Washington and Beijing held talks in London for two days through Tuesday, where they agreed on a possible trade framework that could resolve trade disputes between the two countries.
The officials planned to take the matter to their leaders, US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, for approval, but many specifics of the deal still remain unclear.
In Seoul, tech behemoth Samsung Electronics shed 0.17 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix jumped 2.6 percent.
Top automaker Hyundai Motor went up 1.24 percent and its sister Kia climbed 1.65 percent.
Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace advanced 1.99 percent and major nuclear power plant manufacturer Doosan Enerbility soared 5.28 percent.
Leading shipbuilders also kicked off strong, with Hanwha Ocean surging 4.41 percent and HD Hyundai Heavy rising 0.48 percent.
Samsung Biologics, however, dipped 1.15 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,368.5 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., up 6.5 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)
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