Seoul shares open sharply higher on tech gains despite Middle East tensions

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 222.40 points, or 3.33 percent, to 6,909.61 as of 9:15 a.m., according to a Yonhap report. An earlier flash from the agency put the index at 6,910.78, up 223.57 points, or 3.34 percent, at the opening bell.

Tech heavyweights led the advance. Chip giant Samsung Electronics jumped 4.4 percent, and its rival SK hynix soared 5.89 percent. Hanmi Semiconductor, a leading chip manufacturing equipment firm, vaulted 5.22 percent, and LG Electronics surged 8.44 percent. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor advanced 1.96 percent, while defense giant Hanwha Aerospace climbed 1.04 percent.

The gains came after the PHLX semiconductor index rose 3.38 percent on Friday following the release of OpenAI's new GPT-6 Astra, which is expected to boost demand for memory chips. Although overall U.S. stocks closed lower on strong job data that raised the possibility of Federal Reserve rate hikes, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.51 percent and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.29 percent.

The market mood remained clouded by overnight military exchanges between the United States and Iran. Tehran said it targeted three oil tankers using an unauthorized route through the Strait of Hormuz, as well as several U.S.-linked vessels, in retaliation for U.S. attacks on Iranian tankers.

The Korean won was trading at 1,344.8 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 5 won from the previous stock trading session.