SEOUL: South Korean stocks got off to a bullish start Tuesday, as concerns over the impact of the depreciated Chinese yuan have eased, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 8.3 points, or 0.42 percent to 1,976.82 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Most stocks across the board rebounded, led by large-cap tech and financial shares. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 1.8 percent, with major lender KB Financial Group climbing nearly 1 percent.
The KOSPI dipped 1.4 percent last week, and dropped another 0.75 percent on Monday, as foreigners went on a selling spree after China’s central bank devalued the yuan by 4 percent over three days.
In contrast, foodmakers and cosmetics producers fell. Confectionery maker Orion plummeted 6.5 percent and Amore Pacific slipped 0.4 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,185.30 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 2.8 won from Monday’s close.
