(LEAD) Seoul shares open higher on U.S. gains, bargain hunting

SEOUL, Aug. 4 (Yonhap) -- The Seoul stock market commenced with a bullish trend on Tuesday, mirroring the overnight surge on Wall Street as traders assessed the rebound coupled with lingering concerns regarding the Middle East and the AI-driven rally. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) experienced a 48-point increase, or 0.77 percent, reaching 6,305.45 at 9:15 a.m., following a 1.5 percent rise.

On Monday, the index plummeted over 5 percent after surging by more than 18 percent on Friday. Overnight, U.S. equities surged, primarily propelled by Amazon.com Inc.'s 4.5 percent gain following robust earnings, lifting AI-oriented companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.32 percent to 53,178.41, while the tech-intensive Nasdaq composite expanded 2.13 percent to 25,913.90.

Additionally, declining oil prices bolstered the overall positive market sentiment observed on Monday. Notably, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering surged by 2.17 percent, while LIG Defense & Aerospace rose 4.86 percent. SK hynix, a prominent chip manufacturer, saw a 0.7 percent rise, shipping firm HMM increased by 4.43 percent, and POSCO Holdings, a steel producer, gained 0.82 percent.

Conversely, Samsung Electronics, a market-leading electronics company, slipped by 0.2 percent, Hyundai Motor, a top automobile manufacturer, declined by 1.91 percent, and cosmetics firm Amorepacific dropped 0.54 percent. As of 9:15 a.m., the Korean won was valued at 1,431.65 against the U.S. dollar, a 2.15 won decrease from the previous day's closing rate.