Stocks open higher as U.S. Treasury yields cool

The benchmark Kospi added 7.77 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,364.79 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

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

Stocks opened higher Tuesday as U.S. Treasury yields took a breather after soaring in the past few days.

The benchmark Kospi added 7.77 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,364.79 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, Wall Street ended mixed as U.S. Treasury yields dropped after hitting 5 percent and investors awaited earnings reports from tech giants, including Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon, later this week.

In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 0.29 percent, and SK hynix, the country's No. 2 chipmaker, gained 1.53 percent.

Bio and tech shares got off to a strong start.

Samsung Biologics soared 3.14 percent, and Celltrion jumped 2.35 percent.

Internet portal operator Naver also shot up 2.75 percent, and Kakao, the operator of the country's top mobile messenger, advanced 2.24 percent.

Battery shares, however, started weak.

Industry leader LG Energy Solution dropped 1.26 percent, Samsung SDI lost 0.95 percent, and Posco Future M inched down 0.17 percent.

Auto shares were mixed, with Hyundai Motor down 0.49 percent and its smaller affiliate Kia up 0.12 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,345.30 won against the U.S. dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 8.4 won from the previous session's close.

BY PARK EUN-JEE, YONHAP [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]