Shares start higher on Wall Street gains

The Kospi climbed 18.84 points, or 0.73 percent, to 2,587.39 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

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

Shares got off to a bullish start Wednesday in line with overnight gains on Wall Street.

The Kospi climbed 18.84 points, or 0.73 percent, to 2,587.39 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

U.S. stock indexes gained ground overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.68 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edging up 0.66 percent, as last week's dovish policy pivot by the U.S. Federal Reserve continued to stoke upward market momentum.

In Seoul, blue chips traded higher across the board.

Samsung Electronics rose 0.68 percent, and SK hynix jumped 1.09 percent.

LG Energy Solution climbed 0.59 percent, and Samsung SDI added 0.89 percent.

Posco Holdings edged up 0.10 percent.

Hyundai Motor also rose 0.62 percent, and Kia added 0.78 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,302.55 won against the dollar, down 5.25 won from the previous session's close.

BY KIM JU-YEON, YONHAP [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]