[THE INVESTOR]  South Korean stocks opened higher on Sept. 8 on speculation that an interest rate hike in the US may be delayed.

The benchmark KOSPI rose 7.4 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,069.28 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

US stocks closed mixed on Sept. 7, with the tech-laden NASDAQ Composite reaching a new record high, while the Dow Jones industrial average edged down. 

Most large caps traded mixed with market kingpin Samsung Electronics rising 0.49 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor shed 0.36 percent, and top steelmaker POSCO gained 1.68 percent.

Naver, the operator of the country’s top internet portal, remained flat.

The local currency was trading at 1,091.30 won against the US dollar, down 1.3 won from the previous session’s close.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)