South Korean stocks opened at a record high Thursday, with the benchmark index breaching the 5,600-point mark for the first time, driven by rallies in large-cap tech shares.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 153.25 points, or 2.78 percent, to 5,660.26 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Individual and institutional investors were net buyers, offsetting selling by foreigners.
The index is tracking strong gains in major global markets after a three-day closure for the Lunar New Year holiday amid optimism surrounding industries related to artificial intelligence .
On Wednesday (US time), Wall Street gathered ground, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.26 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite grew 0.78 percent, and the S&P 500 went up 0.56 percent.
In Seoul, most big-cap shares gathered ground.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics soared 4.64 percent, while chip giant SK hynix surged 2.16 percent.
Top automaker Hyundai Motor jumped 3.92 percent, while its sister affiliate Kia advanced 2.93 percent.
Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution added 0.76 percent, and AI investment firm SK Square climbed 2.33 percent.
Bio giant Samsung Biologics went up 0.88 percent, and Celltrion rose 0.84 percent.
Nuclear power plant builder Doosan Enerbility increased 3.1 percent, and defense giant Hanwha Aerospace gained 2.71 percent.
Leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy and its rival Hanwha Ocean spiked 7.18 percent and 7.01 percent, respectively.
The local currency was trading at 1,452.5 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., down 7.6 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)
