South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Thursday, tracking overnight Wall Street gains, as investors bought big-cap tech shares ahead of the extended Chuseok holiday.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 68.84 points, or 1.99 percent, to 3,524.67 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
It was the first time the index topped the 3,500 level in intraday trading.
Foreigners were net buyers, while retail and institutional investors offloaded shares.
Overnight, Wall Street closed higher as a US government shutdown and an unexpected decrease in private sector jobs boosted hope for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates later this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.09 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.42 percent, and the S&P 500 advanced 0.34 percent.
The South Korean stock market will be closed from Friday through next Thursday for the extended Chuseok holiday.
In Seoul, most top-cap shares opened higher.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics surged 4.07 percent, and chip giant SK hynix soared 8.61 percent.
Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution rose 0.86 percent, and LG Chem went up 1.07 percent.
Major bio company Samsung Biologics grew 0.3 percent, and Celltrion edged up 0.11 percent.
Automakers opened higher. Top automaker Hyundai Motor advanced 0.93 percent, and its sister affiliate Kia climbed 1.49 percent.
But shipbuilders opened lower. Leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy sank 1.7 percent, and its rival Hanwha Ocean lost 0.63 percent.
No. 1 financial firm KB Financial Group decreased 0.17 percent, and defense giant Hanwha Aerospace retreated 1.09 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,404.15 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., down 0.95 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)
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