Seoul shares open at fresh high on tech rally amid renewed tension in Middle East

South Korean stocks opened at a new record high Wednesday, driven by strong gains in semiconductor stocks amid renewed tensions in the Middle East in search of a peace deal.

Opening 2.42 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index spiked 372.76 points, or 4.63 percent, to 8,420.27 as of 9:15 a.m.

As stocks extended gains, a buy-side order in the Kospi futures was suspended for five minutes at 9:06 a.m., according to the Korea Exchange.

The index closed at 8,047.51 on Tuesday, ...