Seoul stocks open sharply higher on chip gains amid revived AI hopes

Korean stocks opened sharply higher on Tuesday, led by gains in tech heavyweights. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 153.89 points, or 2.2 percent, to 7,161.61 at the opening bell, according to The Korea Times. Yonhap News reported a slightly different figure, with the KOSPI up 141.58 points, or 2.02 percent, to 7,149.3 as of 9:15 a.m.

The gains were driven by a record close for the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite amid revived hopes for artificial intelligence (AI) and a fall in global oil prices and bond yields. On Monday (local time), U.S. stocks rallied, with the Nasdaq Composite rising 2.3 percent, the S&P 500 gaining 1.5 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 0.7 percent.

Major Korean tech companies saw significant gains, including Samsung Electronics, which rose 2.55 percent, and chip giant SK hynix, which gained 3.21 percent, according to Yonhap News. The Korean won was trading at 1,369.6 won against the U.S. dollar, up 4.9 won from the close of the previous stock trading session.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Korea Times, The Korea Times, Yonhap News — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.