South Korean stocks open higher, led by tech gains following Nasdaq record closes

SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Wednesday, led by gains in tech heavyweights, following the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite's back-to-back record closes.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up 105.36 points, or 1.5 percent, to 7,123.27 as of 9:15 a.m.

On Tuesday (local time), U.S. stocks ended mixed, led by a persistent rally in technology shares that propelled the Nasdaq Composite 0.45 percent higher to another record close. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.36 percent, while the S&P 500 declined 0.06 percent.

Investor sentiment improved sharply, backed by an extended rally in stocks related to artificial intelligence (AI), as well as hopes for easing tensions in the Middle East.

Diplomatic efforts are under way to end the Middle East tension, which worked to help oil prices fall.

In Seoul, most market heavyweights traded higher.

Top market cap Samsung Electronics rose 2.71 percent, and chip giant SK hynix gained 2.07 percent.

SK Square, the parent company of SK hynix, advanced 4.24 percent, while Samsung Electro-Mechanics, an electronics component affiliate of Samsung Electronics, jumped 3.55 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,349.7 won against the U.S. dollar, up 6.8 won from the close of the previous stock trading session.