Seoul stocks open higher on U.S. gains

SEOUL, March 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korean shares got off to a strong start Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) increased 16.02 points, or 0.59 percent, to reach 2,745.59 as of 9:15 a.m.

Overnight, the U.S. stock market finished higher on hopes over peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.27 percent, the S&P 500 increased 0.71 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 1.31 percent.

On the Seoul bourse, most large-cap shares gathered ground, with steel and tech shares leading the overall gains.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics went up 0.57 percent, battery behemoth LG Energy Solution jumped 2.06 percent and chip giant SK Hynix gained 0.85 percent.

Among losers, No. 1 steelmaker POSCO Holdings went down 0.67 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,222 won against the U.S. dollar, up 5.3 won from the previous session's close.

khj@yna.co.kr
(END)