(LEAD) Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street gains, renewed AI optimism

Seoul's stock market opened on a bullish note on Tuesday, mirroring Wall Street's gains and buoyed by renewed confidence in artificial intelligence (AI) and a dip in oil prices, according to Yonhap news agency. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), a key benchmark, surged by 189.18 points, or 3.46 percent, bringing it to a fresh high of 5,658.65 at 9:15 a.m. local time.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average enjoyed a modest gain of 0.28 percent, while the S&P 500 expanded by 0.7 percent, and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite surged 0.82 percent.

Investor optimism further intensified following the disclosure of robust revenue growth by AI startup Anthropic in its U.S. initial public offering (IPO) paperwork. This development rekindled enthusiasm for AI-related equities ahead of key tech earnings reports and the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates. Additionally, a potential easing of tensions in the Middle East played a role, as oil prices retreated on positive news of Qatari mediation efforts involving Iran and the United States.

Among the market leaders, Samsung Electronics soared by 4.69 percent, while semiconductor firm SK hynix saw a significant rise of 7.14 percent. SK Square, the parent company of SK hynix, jumped even higher by 10.4 percent. Electronics component subsidiary Samsung Electro-Mechanics also performed well, climbing 8.77 percent. At 9:15 a.m., the Korean won was trading at 1,325.3 per U.S. dollar, up 0.7 won from the previous day's close.