On the 16th, the KOSPI and KOSDAQ opened higher on optimism over the U.S. market's overnight gains and an end to the Middle East war.
As of 9:13 a.m., the KOSPI was at 6,161.49, up 70.10 points (1.15%) from the previous session. The KOSPI opened at 6,149.49, up 0.95% from the previous session.
In the main board, individuals and institutions were net buyers of 117.3 billion won and 40.8 billion won, respectively. Foreign investors net sold 176.2 billion won.
Heavyweights across the board flashed red. Hyundai Motor was up in the 6% range, and Doosan Enerbility and Kia were up more than 3%. Hanwha Aerospace (1.99%), LG Energy Solution (1.23%), SK Square (0.75%), SK hynix (0.35%), Samsung Biologics (0.34%) and Samsung Electronics (0.24%) were also higher.
At the same time, the KOSDAQ was at 1,163.80, up 11.37 points (0.99%) from the previous session. The KOSDAQ opened at 1,163.00, up 0.92% from the previous session.
On the KOSDAQ, only individual investors were net buyers, purchasing 181.0 billion won and lifting the index. Foreign investors and institutions sold 153.6 billion won and 11.9 billion won in stocks, respectively.
Among top KOSDAQ caps, all were higher except Sam Chun Dang Pharm (-3.06%), HLB (-1.76%) and LEENO Industrial (-0.18%). Rainbow Robotics and LigaChem Biosciences gained more than 3%, while ABL Bio (2.63%), EcoPro BM (2.22%), EcoPro (1.76%), Alteogen (1.21%) and Kolon TissueGene (0.48%) also rose.
In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar rate opened at 1,473.6 won per $1, down 0.6 won from the previous session.
Overnight, New York stocks rose as optimism continued over cease-fire talks between the United States and Iran. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 and the Nasdaq composite hit a record high.
The S&P 500 rose 0.80% to 7,022.95, and the Nasdaq increased 1.59% to 24,016.02. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.15% to 48,463.72.