![A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,556,73 points on Thursday, down 0.45 percent, or 11.68 points, from the previous trading session. The Kosdaq dropped 0.44 percent, or 3.26 points, to 745.28. [YONHAP]](https://image.koreajoongangdaily.com/10143659.webp?imageId=10143659&width=960&height=468&format=jpg)
Shares got off to a strong start Friday tracking overnight gains on Wall Street on eased recession woes.
The benchmark Kospi added 36.85 points, or 1.44 percent, to 2,593.58 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
In the United States, stock indices finished higher as better-than-expected unemployment data buoyed investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.76 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.87 percent.
In Seoul, most shares started in positive territory.
Samsung Electronics increased 2.18 percent and SK hynix jumped 4.16 percent.
LG Energy Solution rose 1.25 percent and SK Biopharm rose 1.22 percent.
Naver gained 3.26 percent on a strong second-quarter earnings report.
The local currency was trading at 1,375.95 won against the dollar, down 1.25 won from the previous session's close.
BY CHO YONG-JUN, YONHAP [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]
