Kospi up 0.35% as investors scoop tech shares

Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite and the S&P 500 rose to hit record highs as investors scooped up technology shares, including Apple and Nvidia.

A screen in Hana Bank’s trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi opening on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Shares opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street buoyed by technology shares.

The benchmark Kospi gained 10 points, or 0.35 percent, to 2,867.76 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite and the S&P 500 rose to hit record highs as investors scooped up technology shares, including Apple and Nvidia.

Investors have been waiting for U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's congressional testimony and the release of the U.S. Consumer Price Index for June due this week.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics added 0.46 percent, and SK hynix gained 0.43 percent.

LG Energy Solution climbed 0.7 percent, and Samsung SDI rose 0.66 percent.

Chemical firms opened higher as well, with LG Chem increasing 0.14 percent and SK Innovation moving up 0.81 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,382.4 won against the dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 0.9 won from the previous session's close.

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