(LEAD) stocks-open

(ATTN: UPDATES with latest details in paras 2, 7-10)

SEOUL, Oct. 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, as strong artificial intelligence (AI)-driven semiconductor earnings lifted investor sentiment ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 183.73 points, or 3.26 percent, to 5,822.07 as of 9:15 a.m., extending its rally after surging more than 3 percent in the previous session.

Overnight, U.S. stocks extended their gains, led by a rally in AI-related technology shares.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.18 percent, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 3.6 percent, providing a positive note for South Korean chipmakers.

Before the opening bell, SK hynix reported a 631 percent spike in third-quarter operating profit at 83.33 trillion won (US$62.78 billion), with sales soaring 327.9 percent to 104.61 trillion won on robust demand for AI memory chips. The world's second-largest memory chip maker also announced an additional 60 trillion won in shareholder returns.

Meanwhile, investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's rate decision early Thursday (Korean time), looking for signals on the future path of U.S. interest rates.

Market heavyweights rose across the board.

Top market cap Samsung Electronics advanced 4.5 percent, and SK hynix rose 2.39 percent.

SK Square, the parent firm of SK hynix, surged 4.59 percent, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics, an electronics component affiliate of Samsung Electronics, climbed 4.5 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,327.1 won against the U.S. dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 0.1 won from the close of the previous stock trading session.

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