Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street rallies

SEOUL, March 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, tracking overnight rallies on Wall Street that stemmed from a plunge in oil prices.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 18.55 points, or 0.71 percent, to trade at 2,640.08 points in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite surged 2.92 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.8 percent, largely as oil prices dipped below US$100 a barrel amid talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Investors also await the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision on a possible interest hike at the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting this week.

In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 1.01 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gained 2.22 percent.

Internet portal operator Naver advanced 1.07 percent, and top carmaker Hyundai Motor inched up 0.61 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,241.35 won against the U.S. dollar, up 1.45 won from the previous session's close.
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