Seoul shares opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, amid hopes for an end to the US government shutdown.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 89.06 points, or 2.19 percent, to 4,162.30 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.81 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 2.27 percent.
The US Senate advanced a plan to end the record-long government shutdown, and President Donald Trump expressed support for the bipartisan deal.
In Seoul, most large-cap stocks traded higher.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics jumped 3.88 percent, and its chip rival SK hynix climbed 3.3 percent.
Top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.74 percent, while its smaller affiliate Kia gained 0.97 percent.
Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution added 3.97 percent, and leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries rose 2.04 percent.
Among decliners, Hyundai Steel slipped 0.78 percent, and leading shipping firm HMM lost 0.74 percent.
The local currency had been trading at 1,456.75 won against the US dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 5.35 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)
