Seoul stocks open higher as investors hunt bargains

SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened higher Friday as investors hunted bargains following overnight gains on Wall Street.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 27.5 points, or 0.69 percent, to 4,022.01 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Overnight, investor sentiment on Wall Street was boosted by gains in technology shares, while the U.S. consumer price index for November rose at a slower-than-expected pace of 2.7 percent on-year, although the data lacked full coverage due to the federal government shutdown.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.14 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.38 percent. The S&P 500 closed 0.79 percent higher.
In Seoul, top tech giant Samsung Electronics rose 0.37 percent, while its local chipmaking rival SK hynix surged 2.36 percent.
Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor added 0.35 percent, and Hanwha Aerospace increased 2.7 percent.
The Korean won was trading at 1,477 won against the U.S. dollar, up 1.3 won from the previous session's close.

Sumber : yna.co.kr