Seoul shares open higher as U.S.-China trade talks make headway

SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- Seoul shares opened higher tracking gains on Wall Street as trade talks between the United States and China have shown signs of making headway.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14.27 points, or 0.65 percent, to 2,210.36, in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Hopes of a trade deal between the world's two biggest economies ahead of the March 1 deadline are giving a boost to the main index, analysts here said.

This week, talks to resolve the trade war between the world's two biggest economies will continue in Washington, with both sides saying negotiations in Beijing last week made good progress.

Institutions and foreigners bought a combined 24.5 billion won (US$22 million) worth of stocks, offsetting a net selling of 24.4 billion won worth of stocks by individuals.

The South Korean currency was trading at 1,125.20 won against the U.S. dollar, up 3.50 won from the previous session.
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