Seoul shares open tad higher on tech, auto gains

South Korean shares opened slightly higher Wednesday, led by gains of tech, autos and other blue chips. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 1.38 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,686.27 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech behemoth Samsung Electronics and chip rival SK hynix added 0.26 and 0.23 percent, respectively. Top automaker Hyundai Motor added 1.21 percent and its smaller affiliate Kia also rose 1.18 percent. Battery shares were mixed, with industry leader LG Energy Solution down 0.8 percent and its smaller rival Samsung SDI up 0.15 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,329.95 won against the U.S. dollar, up 1.05 won from the previous session. Source: Yonhap News Agency