Seoul shares opened 3.3 percent higher on Thursday as investors bought bargain-priced chip stocks after the previous session's steep sell-off. The benchmark KOSPI index rose 243.11 points to 7,489.90 at the opening bell.
Samsung Electronics rose 3.06 percent while chip giant SK Hynix climbed 6.79 percent. Overnight, U.S. stocks ended mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.09 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2 percent.
Investors remain concerned about renewed tensions between the United States and Iran, as well as uncertainty over the next phase of artificial intelligence trade. SK Telecom climbed 4.76 percent, but top carmaker Hyundai Motor fell 2.59 percent.
The Korean won was trading at 1,499.35 won against the U.S. dollar, up 3.05 won from the previous session.
