South Korean stocks opened higher Monday, driven by strong gains of semiconductor shares.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 38.94 points, or 0.94 percent, to 4,168.52 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Retail investors were net buyers, offsetting selling by foreign and institutional investors.
Chip shares led the upturn of the index.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics advanced 1.97 percent, while chip giant SK hynix surged 5.18 percent.
Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace spiked 6.67 percent, and nuclear power plant builder Doosan Enerbility added 0.95 percent.
But leading battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 1.83 percent, while top financial group KB Financial sank 1.12 percent.
Top automaker Hyundai Motor lost 0.35 percent, and its sister affiliate Kia skidded 0.5 percent.
Leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy grew 0.59 percent, while its rival Hanwha Ocean decreased 0.52 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,437.15 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., up 3.15 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)
