Seoul shares open higher on U.S. gains

SEOUL, Aug. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks got off to a strong start on Wednesday, buoyed by overnight rallies on Wall Street, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 9.43 points, or 0.53 percent, to 1,786.11 as of 9:15 a.m. Auto and construction shares led the climb with leading carmaker Hyundai Motor gaining nearly 3 percent and top builder Hyundai Engineering & Construction jumping more than 7 percent. U.S. stocks closed higher on Tuesday on hopes the U.S. Federal Reserve may move to introduce fresh stimulus measures in a bid to boost the country's sluggish economy. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 2.97 percent and the Nasdaq surged 4.29 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,077.35 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 0.65 won from Tuesday's close.