An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)
South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday as investor sentiment was buoyed by ongoing US debt ceiling negotiations.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 16.3 points, or 0.66 percent, to 2,495.65 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
US stocks finished a tad higher overnight on rising optimism that Washington would reach a debt ceiling deal.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.14 percent, and the tech-savvy Nasdaq Composite went up 0.66 percent.
In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 1.71 percent and its rival SK hynix rose 3.12 percent.
Leading chemicals maker LG Chem added 1.88 percent, and top retailer Lotte Shopping edged up 0.25 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,333.6 won against the US dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 3.4 won from Monday's close. (Yonhap)
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