South Korean stocks opened slightly higher on Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street amid rising hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict between the United States and Iran.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or KOSPI, started 0.74 percent higher at 7,873.12. It later trimmed gains to rise 2.71 points, or 0.03 percent, to 7,818.3 as of 9:15 a.m.
U.S. stocks advanced after Iran said the latest proposal from the U.S. partly bridged the gap between the warring sides. This raised hopes that the three-month war may end soon with a peace deal. The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6 percent, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.1 percent.
Samsung Electronics opened 1.34 percent lower after surging the previous day. SK hynix fell 2.29 percent and Hyundai Motor shed 2.55 percent. In contrast, SK Square rose 0.76 percent and LG Energy Solution gained 2.62 percent. The Korean won traded at 1,507.4 won against the U.S. dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 1.3 won from the prior session.
