South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street driven by hopes for rate cuts.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 59.1 points, or 1.88 percent, to 3,206.85 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Overnight, US stocks gained ground on hopes the Federal Reserve may go for multiple rate cuts later this year to support the economy following a weaker-than-expected jobs report released over the weekend. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.34 percent higher, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite climbing 1.95 percent and the S&P 500 rising 1.47 percent.
In Seoul, big-cap shares got off to a strong start as investors went bargain hunting following the KOSPI's steep drop last week.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 1.72 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix gained 1.94 percent.
Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution jumped 2.13 percent, and top automaker Hyundai Motor advanced 1.18 percent.
Financial and shipbuilding shares were particularly bullish.
KB Financial soared 3.69 percent, and Shinhan Financial spiked 3.19 percent.
Major shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy surged 2.27 percent, and HD Korea Shipbuilding shot up 4.15 percent.
The state-run Korea Electric Power also increased 2.28 percent.
But Kakao, the operator of the country's dominant mobile messenger, slid 3.25 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,382.8 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., up 2.4 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)
