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Korea's stocks open higher on tech, auto gains

Published: 05 Apr. 2023, 09:44 Updated: 05 Apr. 2023, 10:06

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

Seoul shares opened higher Wednesday helped by gains in tech and auto amid renewed concerns over the U.S. banking crisis.

The Kospi rose 10.01 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,490.52 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The main index bucked losses on Wall Street.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.5 percent amid a sell-off in banks.

Citigroup, Wells Fargo and other U.S. lenders plunged after JPMorgan Chase's chief Jamie Dimon warned the U.S. banking crisis will be felt for years to come.

In Seoul, large-cap stocks advanced across the board.

Chipmaker SK hynix rose 0.8 percent, and home appliance maker LG Electronics climbed 2.2 percent.

Hyundai Motor gained 1.3 percent, and wireless services provider SK Telecom was up 0.9 percent.

Among decliners, refiner SK Innovation fell 0.3 percent, state-run Korea Gas Corporation declined 0.6 percent, and steelmaker Posco Holdings shed 0.7 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,310.95 won against the dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 4.85 won from the previous session's close.

Yonhap