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Kospi opens higher on tech gains while tariff woes continue

Published: 19 Feb. 2025, 09:56

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi opening on Feb. 19. [YONHAP]

Shares opened higher Wednesday, helped by tech gains amid concerns over additional tariffs set to be announced by the U.S. government early next month.

The Kospi rose 21.53 points, or 0.82 percent, to 2,648.34 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

U.S. President Donald Trump recently ordered a 25 percent tariff on all steel and aluminum imports.

In addition, he is expected to impose tariffs of around 25 percent on automobile, semiconductor and pharmaceutical imports as early as April 2.

In Seoul, tech stocks led gains.

Samsung Electronics rose 1.4 percent, and SK hynix jumped 3.6 percent.

LG Electronics climbed 2.4 percent, and SK Telecom gained 0.7 percent.

Among decliners, Hyundai Motor fell 0.3 percent, and SK Innovation declined 0.08 percent.

Hanwha Ocean shed 1.7 percent, and HMM was down 0.4 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,443.40 won against the dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 0.3 won from the previous session.