Seoul shares open almost flat amid eased woes over banking sector

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows stock and foreign exchange markets close on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

Seoul shares opened flat on Thursday amid easing anxiety about the global banking system.

The Kospi moved slightly up 0.65 point, or 0.03 percent, to 2,444.57 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, U.S. stocks closed up, led by tech gains amid improved sentiment about the global banking sector.

The S&P 500 went up 1.42 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.79 percent.

In Seoul, most large caps opened mixed.

Chipmakers gained ground, with Samsung Electronics adding 1.12 percent and SK hynix rising 3.22 percent.

Portal operator Naver climbed 0.15 percent.

Battery makers declined. LG Energy Solution shed 0.34 percent, and Samsung SDI declined 0.95 percent.

Hyundai Motor lost 0.5 percent, and Kia went down 0.5 percent. Bio company Samsung Biologics also inched down 1.01 percent.

The local currency was trading hands at 1,306.4 won against the dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 3.7 won from the previous session's close.

Yonhap