▲ Officials work at the dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul on Sept. 4, 2026. (Yonhap)

(ATTN: UPDATES with latest figures in 2nd para; ADDS more info from 7th para)

SEOUL, Sept. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks started sharply higher Monday, driven by gains in tech shares, despite heightened military tensions in the Middle East.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 222.40 points, or 3.33 percent, to 6,909.61 as of 9:15 a.m.

Overnight, military attacks intensified between the United States and Iran.

Tehran said it targeted three oil tankers using an unauthorized route through the Strait of Hormuz, as well as several U.S.-linked vessels, in retaliation for U.S. attacks on Iranian tankers.

On Friday, U.S. stocks closed lower on strong job data, which raised the possibility of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.51 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.29 percent.

However, the PHLX semiconductor index rose 3.38 percent on the release of OpenAI's new GPT-6 Astra, which is expected to boost demand for memory chips.

In Seoul, tech shares led the strong opening.

Chip giant Samsung Electronics jumped 4.4 percent, and its rival SK hynix soared 5.89 percent.

Hanmi Semiconductor, a leading chip manufacturing equipment firm, vaulted 5.22 percent, and LG Electronics surged 8.44 percent.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor advanced 1.96 percent and defense giant Hanwha Aerospace climbed 1.04 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,344.8 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 5 won from the previous stock trading session.

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