Seoul Stocks Rise as U.S. Tech Rally Boosts Market.

Seoul: South Korean stocks kicked off higher Wednesday tracking an overnight tech rally on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 9.64 points, or 0.37 percent, to 2,586.52 in the first 15 minutes of trading. According to Yonhap News Agency, major U.S. indexes gained ground overnight as a report on the services industries shows that the U.S. economy is still strong. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.02 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite increased 1.43 percent, and the S and P 500 went up 1.23 percent. Artificial intelligence chip giant Nvidia jumped 2.85 percent, Intel rose 3.55 percent, and EV maker Tesla surged 3.54 percent. Investors' eyes are now on the results of the U.S. presidential election. In Seoul, big-cap tech shares started in positive territory, echoing the gains in U.S. blue chip stocks. Tech behemoth Samsung Electronics climbed 0.35 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix jumped 2.64 percent. Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution increased 0. 95 percent, and its smaller rival Samsung SDI added 0.31 percent. POSCO Future M advanced 1.27 percent. Korea Zinc, the world's largest smelter in the middle of a management control battle, also soared 3.26 percent. On the other hand, top automaker Hyundai Motor dropped 1.63 percent, with its sister Kia down 1.13 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,380 won against the U.S. dollar, down 1.4 won from the previous session.