A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi opening on Feb. 4. [YONHAP]

A screen in Hana Bank’s trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi opening on Feb. 4. [YONHAP]

 
Shares opened slightly higher Wednesday, bucking an overnight fall on Wall Street caused by woes over recent developments in AI. 
 
The Kospi added 12.29 points, or 0.23 percent, to 5,300.37 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Korean bourse reclaimed the 5,300 mark after three trading sessions.
 
The Kosdaq index rose 11.41 points, or 1.0 percent, to trade at 1,155.74. 
 
Overnight, U.S. stocks closed lower after fresh concerns about the impact of AI on software businesses swept the market.
 
The S&P500 fell 0.84 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dipped 1.43 percent.
 
AI startup Anthropic on Tuesday unveiled new capabilities for its Claude chatbot, including assisting and performing tasks related to legal, sales and network services, raising speculation that AI technology will reshape the software sector.
 
In Seoul, large-cap shares were trading mixed.
 
Semiconductor heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK hynix shed 1.73 percent and 1.21 percent, respectively.
 
IT shares also lost ground, with Naver sliding 1.3 percent and messenger app operator Kakao declining 1.18 percent.
 
In contrast, industry leader Hyundai Motor advanced 3.97 percent, battery maker LG Energy Solution moved up 2.69 percent, and bio firm Celltrion rose 4.1 percent.
 
The local currency fell 7.6 won from the previous session to trade at 1,453 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE, YONHAP [[email protected]]