Shares in Korea open higher Tuesday on U.S. gains

Electronic display boards at Hana Bank in central Seoul show stock and foreign exchange markets on Tuesday morning. [YONHAP]

Stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, with the U.S. Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate-setting meeting in focus.

The Kospi added 9.36 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,382.38 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, U.S. shares finished higher following last week's deep losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.58 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.26 percent.

The Federal Reserve will begin its two-day meeting on Tuesday local time, where it is widely expected to deliver a 50-basis-point hike, smaller than what it has been.

But investors remain cautious over Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference on Wednesday.

The U.S. consumer price index will also come out Tuesday.

In Seoul, tech shares rose on bargain hunting to lead the overall upturn.

Samsung Electronics rose 0.84 percent, and SK hynix added 0.49 percent.

LG Energy Solution grew 0.20 percent, and Samsung SDI surged 0.69 percent, while LG Chem advanced 0.48 percent.

Bio shares also gathered ground, with Samsung Biologics increasing 0.98 percent and Celltrion rising 0.57 percent.

Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia traded flat.

The local currency was trading at 1,303.50 won against the dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 3.70 won from the previous session's close.

BY LIM JEONG-WON, YONHAP [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]