Stocks open higher on chemicals, telecoms

SEOUL, July 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened a tad higher on Monday, as investors scooped up chemical and telecom shares.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 2.63 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,209.02 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Major large-cap shared were mixed.

Market kingpin Samsung Electronics was unchanged while major chipmaker SK hynix shed 0.4 percent.

In contrast, SK Telecom, the country's top mobile carrier, was up 0.22 percent. KT, the No. 2 mobile operator, added 0.38 percent, and No. 3 player LG Uplus increased 0.78 percent.

LG Chem, the country's top chemicals firm, advanced 1.86 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,157.8 won against the U.S. dollar, up 3.6 won from the previous session's close.

khj@yna.co.kr
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