Seoul stocks open higher amid mixed U.S. job data

SEOUL, Dec. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday on bargain hunting, while U.S. job data provided a mixed picture of the country's labor market.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 18.2 points, or 0.46 percent, to 4,017.33 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Major stock indexes on Wall Street closed mixed overnight, as the delayed November job data showed a mixed picture of the American labor market.
The S&P 500 inched down 0.24 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.6 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.23 percent on Tesla, of which shares rose over 3 percent due to positive developments in its Robotaxi business.
The U.S. economy added 64,000 jobs last month, according to Labor Department data published on Tuesday (local time). The unemployment rate, however, rose to a four-year high of 4.6 percent.
In Seoul, most large cap shares were mixed.
Market top-cap Samsung Electronics added 1.22 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix inched up 0.19 percent.
Top car maker Hyundai Motor moved up 0.35 percent, defense giant Hanwha Aerospace rose 0.8 percent, while bio firm Celltrion dipped 0.16 percent.
The Korean won was trading at 1,476 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 1 won from the previous session's close.

Sumber : yna.co.kr