Kospi surges 1.2% despite Wall Street losses

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the stock market price as it opens on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Stocks got off to a strong start Tuesday despite overnight losses on Wall Street.

The Kospi added 32.49 points, or 1.19 percent, to reach 2,770.06 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The U.S. stocks lost ground Monday (U.S. time) as investors took a breather ahead of key inflation data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4 percent and the tech-rich Nasdaq composite Index dropped 0.3 percent.

In Seoul, market heavyweights led the bullish beginning.

Samsung Electronics rose 1.92 percent and SK hynix jumped 2.13 percent.

LG Energy Solution advanced 0.72 percent and Hyundai Motor went up 1.25 percent.

Naver increased 0.59 percent and SK Telecom gained 1.31 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,338.15 won against the dollar, down 3.95 won from the previous session's close.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG, YONHAP [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]