Seoul shares open higher on chip, bio gains

▲ This photo taken Jan. 14, 2026, shows the dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul. (Yonhap)

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Seoul shares open higher on chip, bio gains

SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks started a tad higher Wednesday on gains from chip and bio shares.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 4.87 points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,697.51 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The index opened 0.16 percent lower but soon turned positive, briefly topping the 4,700-point mark for the first time.

Overnight, the U.S. stock market fell lower on a drop in financial shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.8 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1 percent.

In Seoul, semiconductor and bio shares led the early gains.

Chip giant Samsung Electronics rose 0.22 percent, and SK hynix advanced 0.41 percent.

Samsung Biologics increased 1.52 percent, and SK bioscience gained 1.04 percent.

Auto shares were mixed as industry leader Hyundai Motor stayed flat, and its sister Kia jumped 5.51 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,479.05 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., down 5.15 won from the previous session.

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