Seoul shares open slightly higher on U.S. gains

SEOUL, Aug. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks started slightly higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street on growing hopes for the Federal Reserve's monetary easing.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 8.14 points, or 0.25 percent, to 3,232.51 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
In the United States, the benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes climbed to new highs Wednesday (U.S. time) on the previous day's mild inflation data and the government's repeated calls for a rate cut.
The S&P 500 gained 0.32 percent and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.14 percent to close at new all-time highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also added 1.04 percent.
In Seoul, battery and auto shares led the early gains.
Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution advanced 1.67 percent, and POSCO Future M increased 1.38 percent.
Top carmaker Hyundai Motor mounted 0.93 percent, and its auto parts affiliate Hyundai Mobis climbed 0.33 percent.
Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace rose 1.37 percent following a US$250 million deal to export its homegrown K9 self-propelled howitzers to Vietnam.
However, top-cap Samsung Electronics fell 0.63 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,380.1 won against the U.S. dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 1.6 won from the previous session.

Sumber : yna.co.kr