Seoul shares open higher on US gains, bargain hunting

The benchmark KOSPI is displayed at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

Seoul shares opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street as investors weighed an overnight rebound on Wall Street amid lingering uncertainty over the Middle East and the artificial intelligence (AI)-backed rally.

After opening 1.5 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 48 points, or 0.77 percent, to 6,305.45 as of 9:15 a.m.

The index plunged by more than 5 percent on Monday after a record 18-percent surge on Friday.

Overnight, U.S. stocks advanced as Amazon.com Inc.'s 4.5 percent gain following strong earnings helped lift companies benefiting from demand for AI.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.32 percent to 53,178.41, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite climbed 2.13 percent to 25,913.90.

Falling oil prices also contributed to the broadly positive market sentiment Monday.

Large-cap stocks were mixed.

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering rose 2.17 percent, and LIG Defense & Aerospace gained 4.86 percent.

Chip giant SK hynix rose 0.7 percent, shipping firm HMM jumped 4.43 percent, and steelmaker POSCO Holdings gained 0.82 percent.

Among decliners, market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 0.2 percent, top carmaker Hyundai Motor declined 1.91 percent, and cosmetics firm Amorepacific shed 0.54 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,431.65 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 2.15 won from the close of stock trading the day before.