An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday. (Yonhap)
An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday. (Yonhap)

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday as investors shored up semiconductor and heavy industry shares amid eased tariff concerns following a recent trade agreement between the United States and China.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 16.59 points, or 0.64 percent, to 2,625.01 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix jumped 0.97 percent and 3.02 percent, respectively, tracking overnight US tech share gains over news of Nvidia's plan to supply 18,000 units of its artificial intelligence chip Blackwell to Saudi Arabia.

Heavy industry shares also advanced, with leading defense systems manufacturer Hanwha Aerospace rising 1.87 percent and shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries adding 0.61 percent.

Battery and bio-related shares, however, lost ground. Leading battery company LG Energy Solution slumped 1.12 percent, while Samsung Biologics dropped 0.7 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,416.2 won against the US dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 0.2 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)