Seoul shares open higher on techs, cars, following holiday break

South Korean stocks started higher Monday following a three-day break including the weekend on the back of robust gains from tech and automobile shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 30.66 points, or 1.16 percent, to 2,673.02 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech shares led the overall gains, with Samsung Electronics rising 1.36 percent and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix climbing 4.03 percent. Leading carmaker Hyundai Motors added 1.2 percent, and its smaller rival Kia Motor remained unchanged from the previous session. Auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis rose 2.89 percent. Samsung Biologics increased 1.03 percent, and Celltrion climbed 0.33 percent. Korean Air, the country's flagship carrier, on the other hand, fell 0.43 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,329.6 won against the U.S. dollar, up 1.9 won from the previous session's close. Source: Yonhap News Agency