South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday on hopes that the United States and China may reach a consensus on measures to deescalate trade tensions between the world's two biggest economies.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 12.12 points, or 0.42 percent, to 2,883.97 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Overnight, Wall Street closed higher as US officials signaled progress in trade negotiations between the United States and China.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said talks with China in London "went really, really well," and the two sides agreed on a possible trade framework that could resolve pending trade issues, such as rare earths.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.25 percent, the S&P 500 added 0.55 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 0.63 percent.
In Seoul, tech behemoth Samsung Electronics increased 1.01 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix jumped 3.69 percent.
Top automaker Hyundai Motor went up 1.47 percent, while its sister Kia climbed 1.38 percent.
Major nuclear power plant manufacturer Doosan Enerbility also advanced 3.65 percent.
On the other hand, big-cap defense and shipbuilding shares got off to a weak start as investors sought to gain profit following their rally the previous day.
Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace lost 2.78 percent, and its shipbuilding affiliate Hanwha Ocean went down 0.76 percent.
Other leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy slid 2.46 percent.
Financial shares were also in negative territory, with KB Financial losing 3.25 percent and Shinhan Financial dipping 3.12 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,365.5 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., down 1.2 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)
