The Korea Herald

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Seoul shares open higher on bargain hunting

By Yonhap

Published : Aug. 30, 2024 - 09:47

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An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Friday. (Yonhap) An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Friday. (Yonhap)

South Korean shares opened higher Friday as investors picked up tech, auto and other blue chip bargains following losses the previous session.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) gained 13.53 points, or 0.51 percent, to 2,675.81 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, US stocks ended mixed after experiencing rollercoaster-like volatility amid differing views on Nvidia's earnings, with some expressing disappointment while others saw the results as alleviating uncertainty in the market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.59 percent, with the S&P 500 ending flat. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite slipped 0.23 percent higher as well.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics and chip rival SK hynix rose 0.81 percent and 0.53 percent, respectively, following steep losses the previous session following Nvidia's earnings announcement.

Automotive and bio shares also gained traction.

Top automotive company Hyundai Motor rose 1.55 percent, and Samsung Biologics added 0.52 percent.

Battery makers, however, retreated after recording gains in the past few sessions. Industry leader LG Energy Solution shed 0.64 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,334.25 won against the US dollar, down 1.05 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)