Seoul shares open significantly higher after long holiday; won sharply down

SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened significantly higher Friday after the seven-day Chuseok holiday amid hopes for an artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The Korean won opened sharply lower against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 47.1 points, or 1.33 percent, to 3,596.31 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
The index briefly touched the 3,600 level in intraday trading for the first time.
The financial market opened for the first time since Oct. 2 following the extended Chuseok holiday, which began last Friday.
U.S. stocks finished lower Thursday (local time) after recent rallies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.52 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.08 percent.
In Seoul, semiconductor and drug shares led the early gains.
Samsung Electronics jumped 4.49 percent, and SK hynix vaulted 7.46 percent.
Leading pharmaceutical firms Samsung Biologic and Celltrion advanced 1.19 percent and 0.86 percent, respectively.
Energy firm Doosan Enerbility rose 4.01 percent, and top internet company Naver climbed 5.93 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,420.9 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., down 20.9 won from the previous session.

Sumber : yna.co.kr