An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)
An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking Wall Street gains, led by foreign investors' solid buying of tech shares.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 20.45 points, or 0.78 percent, to 2,631.14 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

US shares rose Monday on bargain hunting as investors shrugged off concerns about an economic slowdown and a global trade war.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.85 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite went up 0.31 percent.

In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics surged 2.17 percent, and chip giant SK hynix climbed 0.97 percent.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution soared 1.69 percent, and No. 1 steelmaker POSCO Holdings advanced 0.98 percent.

Bio shares opened higher. Major bio firm Samsung Biologics increased 0.28 percent, and Celltrion inched up 0.16 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor increased 0.75 percent, while its sister affiliate Kia sank 3.8 percent.

Leading defense equipment manufacturer Hanwha Aerospace jumped 2.12 percent, and top financial firm KB Financial went up 2.03 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,443.05 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., up 4.85 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)