Seoul shares open tad higher amid US tariff uncertainties
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 6.01 points, or 0.19 percent, to 3,196.46 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Overnight, Wall Street closed mixed, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite and the S&P 500 up 0.18 percent and 0.07 percent, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.7 percent.
Tesla slid 8.2 percent on weaker-than-expected earnings, while artificial intelligence chip giant Nvidia rose 1.73 percent on expectations the company will profit from major tech firms' plan to increase their AI investment.
Investors were paying close attention to the ongoing tariff negotiations between Seoul and Washington.
Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Thursday, and the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to striking a trade deal before the Aug. 1 deadline.
Though the "2+2" high-level meeting, originally scheduled for Friday, was postponed, Yeo plans to hold a one-on-one meeting with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer as part of efforts to make progress in tariff talks.
In Seoul, financial shares kicked off particularly strong.
KB Financial soared 6.06 percent, Shinhan Financial jumped 3.75 percent, and Hana Financial advanced 3.63 percent.
Other big-cap shares were mixed.
Chipmaking giant SK hynix rose 1.11 percent, while its rival Samsung Electronics dipped 0.45 percent.
Major shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy went up 1.67 percent, but its rival Hanwha Ocean dropped 1.35 percent.
Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution went down 1.63 percent following a sharp increase the previous session, and steel giant POSCO Holdings decreased 1.05 percent.
Major biopharmaceutical firms lost ground, with Samsung Biologics down 1.01 percent and Celltrion down 1.77 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,371.4 won against the US dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 4.2 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)
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