Seoul shares open higher on tech gains amid Middle East concerns

Seoul shares opened higher Tuesday, led by gains by major chipmakers, despite overnight losses on Wall Street, as hopes for a deal to end the war with Iran fade. After opening 2 percent up, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index extended gains, trading 166.91 points, or 2.39 percent, higher at 7,144.85 as of 9:15 a.m. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.51 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite declined 0.32 percent. Elevated oil prices stoked inflation concerns,