South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, as chip, defense equipment and other large caps tracked overnight gains on Wall Street.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 17.74 points, or 0.69 percent, to 2,592.56 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Overnight, Wall Street stabilized following a two-session losing streak after the country's Consumer Price Index for February came in lower than market expectations, helping ease uncertainties stemming from US President Donald Trump's tariff policies.
The S&P 500 rose 0.49 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.22 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, slipped 0.2 percent.
In Seoul, market heavyweight Samsung Electronics gained 0.73 percent, and chip rival SK hynix rose 1.31 percent.
Top defense equipment manufacturer Hanwha Aerospace soared 6.17 percent, and shipbuilding giant Hanwha Ocean jumped 4.56 percent
Financial shares also enjoyed brisk trading. Kookmin Financial and Shinhan Financial gained 2.47 percent and 2.21 percent, respectively.
In contrast, chemical and bio shares retreated, with LG Chem losing 2.19 percent and Samsung Biologics shedding 0.28 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,451.05 won against the US dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 0.05 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)
