Stocks open higher despite Wall Street losses

Stocks opened higher Wednesday despite overnight losses on Wall Street. The benchmark Kospi climbed 16.83 points, or 0.65 percent, to 2,590.81 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the stock market close on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

Stocks opened higher Wednesday despite overnight losses on Wall Street.

The benchmark Kospi climbed 16.83 points, or 0.65 percent, to 2,590.81 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

On Wall Street, all three major U.S. stock indexes finished lower Tuesday as credit rating agency Moody's downgraded 10 small- and medium-size U.S. lenders.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.45 percent, and the tech-savvy Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.79 percent.

In Seoul, market heavyweights pushed the Kospi up.

Samsung Electronics rose 1.78 percent, and SK hynix added 0.08 percent.

LG Energy Solution climbed 2.8 percent, and Samsung SDI inched up 1.6 percent.

Naver and Kakao also advanced 2.91 and 1.74 percent, respectively.

The local currency was trading at 1,317.75 won against the dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 1.45 won from Monday's close.

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