Seoul Shares Bounce Back After Opening Lower

South Korean stocks bounced back after opening lower Thursday amid tech, steel and other blue chip gains.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 4.82 points, or 0.28 percent, to 1,722.61 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

High-tech and steel-making shares led the overall gains. Tech giant Samsung Electronics jumped more than 1 percent and top steel maker POSCO also rose nearly 1 percent. Machinery and brokerage stocks also advanced.

However, shipbuilding and insurance stocks remained weak. Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo

Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering opened lower while leading non-life insurer Samsung Fire & Marine tumbled more than 2 percent.

The tech-savvy Kosdaq market also advanced thanks to a rise on Wall Street and individual and institutional buying.

The Kosdaq index opened at 604.33 and gained further, reaching 606.96, up 5.24 points, or 0.87 percent, as of 10 a.m.

The Korean won was trading at 1,034.6 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 3.4 won from Wednesday's close.