A stock ticker at Hana Bank headquarters in central Seoul shows the KOSPI and the won-dollar exchange rate, Wednesday. Yonhap
Seoul shares opened sharply higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, amid eased woes over artificial intelligence (AI) profitability and hopes for an interim agreement between the United States and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz.
After opening 3.85 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up 299.03 points, or 4.7 percent, at 6,657.98 as of 9:15 a.m.
The index rose 1.62 percent Tuesday after plunging 5.12 percent the previous day.
Overnight, U.S. stocks advanced as investors bet that a possible agreement to reopen the crucial shipping route could extend the recent decline in oil prices and ease inflationary pressures.
