Seoul shares open nearly flat after U.S.-China trade deal

SEOUL, May 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks started nearly unchanged Tuesday following a trade agreement between the United States and China.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 0.75 point, or 0.03 percent, to 2,608.08 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

After two-day talks in Switzerland over the weekend, the U.S. and China agreed to cut reciprocal tariffs on each other for 90 days.

Wall Street welcomed the deal, with three major indexes rising sharply.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.81 percent, and the S&P 500 jumped 3.26 percent. The Nasdaq composite vaulted 4.35 percent.

In Seoul, however, major shares started in mixed territory.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics stayed flat and its chipmaking rival SK hynix advanced 1.9 percent.

Hyundai Motor, No. 1 carmaker, rose 0.66 percent, and leading battery maker LG Energy Solution decreased 0.16 percent.

Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace fell 3.17 percent, and top bio tech firm Samsung Biologics mounted 1.31 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,412.65 won against the U.S. dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 10.55 won from the previous session.

brk@yna.co.kr
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