Kospi opens higher on tech, financial gains

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,628.62 points on Thursday, down 1.76 percent, or 47.13 points, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Stocks opened higher Friday as investors purchased techs and financials despite overnight losses on Wall Street.

Kospi rose 20.16 points, or 0.77 percent, to 2,648.78 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, Wall Street lost ground as Meta and other big tech companies retreated as the U.S. economy expanded at a sharply slower-than-expected pace in the first quarter. The S&P 500 dropped 0.5 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq shed 0.6 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1 percent.

In Seoul, tech shares led the overall gains, with Samsung Electronics rising 1.78 percent and chip rival SK hynix adding 2.45 percent.

Finance stocks also advanced, with KB Financial surging 7.22 percent and Shinhan Financial jumping 3.79 percent.

In contrast, battery and auto shares traded lower. Battery company LG Energy Solution lost 0.94 percent, and automaker Hyundai Motor fell 1.6 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,374.25 won against the greenback, down 0.75 won from the previous session's close.

BY SEO JI-EUN, YONHAP [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]