An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday. (Yonhap)
South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street that stemmed from eased Ukraine tensions.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 40.21 points, or 1.5 percent, to trade at 2,716.75 points in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Overnight, US stocks rallied, snapping a three-day losing streak, on the back of overall gains in tech shares amid eased tensions over Russia's possible invasion of Ukraine.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.22 percent, the S&P 500 increased 1.58 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 2.53 percent.
In Seoul, most large-cap shares traded higher.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 1.09 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix advanced 3.54 percent.
Internet portal operator Naver moved up 0.94 percent, and LG Chem jumped 4.34 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,196.6 won against the US dollar, up 3.2 percent from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)
