stocks-open
Seoul shares open sharply higher, head toward fresh record high
SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Yonhap) -- Seoul shares opened sharply higher Wednesday on an extended rally in semiconductors, heading toward a new high after the benchmark index closed above the 4,500-point mark for the first time a day earlier, as investors continued to add to bets on technology stocks.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 69.37 points, or 1.53 percent, to 4,594.85 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
The KOSPI briefly traded above the 4,600-point mark shortly after the market opened, setting a fresh intraday high.
On Tuesday, the KOSPI rose 1.52 percent to close at an all-time high of 4,525.48 on an extended tech rally.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.99 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite climbed 0.65 percent.
Technology and auto stocks led the gains.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 2.81 percent, while chip giant SK hynix climbed 3.99 percent.
Top carmaker Hyundai Motor jumped 7.47 percent and its smaller affiliate Kia gained 1.55 percent.
Among decliners, top carrier Korean Air fell 1.56 percent, and leading chemical firm LG Chem shed 0.46 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,448.60 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., down 3.1 won from the previous session.
(END)
(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved
