Stocks open higher following Wall Street gains overnight

Stocks opened higher Tuesday following Wall Street gains overnight amid remaining rate hike woes. The benchmark Kospi rose 21.37 points, or 0.9 percent, to 2,542.07 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show foreign and stock markets close on Monday. [YONHAP]

Stocks opened higher Tuesday following Wall Street gains overnight amid remaining rate hike woes.

The benchmark Kospi rose 21.37 points, or 0.9 percent, to 2,542.07 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.2 percent.

Fed officials have said the U.S. central bank will need to raise rates further this year to tame inflation.

In Seoul, most large-cap stocks advanced.

Samsung Electronics rose 1.3 percent, and SK hynix climbed 1.7 percent.

Hyundai Motor gained 0.5 percent, and Korea Electric Power Corporation was up 1.4 percent.

Among decliners, Posco Holdings fell 0.8 percent, and Korea Aerospace Industries declined 0.6 percent. LG Chem shed 0.5 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,299.5 won against the dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 7 won from the previous session's close.

BY SOHN DONG-JOO, YONHAP [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]