▲ A dealing room at Hana Bank in Seoul on May 14, 2026 (Yonhap)

(LEAD) stocks-open

(LEAD) Seoul shares again open at fresh record high, just inches away from historic 8,000 milestone

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SEOUL, May 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened at a new high Thursday, attempting to reach another historic milestone of 8,000, as large-cap shares took a cue from an overnight rally on Wall Street, boosted by major tech companies.

After starting 0.38 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had added 71.25 points, or 0.91 percent, to a fresh peak of 7,915.26 as of 9:15 a.m.

The KOSPI kicked off bullish as major U.S. indexes reached new highs overnight, driven up by a boost in blue chip tech shares.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite closed 1.2 percent higher, and the S&P 500 added 0.58 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.14 percent.

Wall Street was buoyed more by news that chiefs from artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia, Tesla, Apple and other major tech companies joined U.S. President Donald Trump's business delegation to Beijing, rather than lingering woes over little progress in peace talks between the United States and Iran.

Concerns over a faster-than-expected rise in U.S. producer prices, a key gauge of inflation, in April were also not enough to cool down the U.S. market.

In Seoul, market top-cap Samsung Electronics climbed 1.76 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix rose 0.2 percent.

Auto giant Hyundai Motor advanced 1.27 percent, and its auto parts-making affiliate Hyundai Mobis jumped 4.78 percent.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution gained 1.63 percent, and its smaller rival Samsung SDI added 0.32 percent.

Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace expanded 0.86 percent.

In contrast, major shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy slid 3.96 percent, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics dropped 1.46 percent following their recent rally.

Bio giant Samsung Biologics lost 0.92 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,489.9 won against the U.S. dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 0.7 won from the previous session.

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