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Kospi opens higher on overnight U.S. gains

Published: 13 Mar. 2025, 09:48

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi opening on March 13. [YONHAP]

Seoul shares opened higher Thursday, as chip, defense equipment and other large caps tracked overnight gains on Wall Street.

The Kospi gained 17.74 points, or 0.69 percent, to 2,592.56 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, Wall Street stabilized following a two-session losing streak after the country's Consumer Price Index (CPI) for February came in lower than market expectations, helping ease uncertainty stemming from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies.

The S&P 500 rose 0.49 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.22 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, slipped 0.2 percent.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics gained 0.73 percent, and SK hynix rose 1.31 percent.

Hanwha Aerospace soared 6.17 percent, and Hanwha Ocean jumped 4.56 percent

Financial shares also enjoyed brisk trading. Kookmin Financial and Shinhan Financial Group gained 2.47 percent and 2.21 percent, respectively.

In contrast, chemical and bio shares retreated, with LG Chem losing 2.19 percent and Samsung Biologics shedding 0.28 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,451.05 won against the U.S. dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 0.05 won from the previous session.

Yonhap