Seoul shares open up after Fed chief's speech

Seoul shares opened higher Monday, tracking gains on Wall Street, as the US Federal Reserve looks set to take a cautious stance in raising rates again.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 7.25 points, or 0.29 percent, to 2,526.39 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, US stocks ended in positive territory, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.7 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbing 0.9 percent.

In his speech last week in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said bringing inflation back to its target still has a long way to go but he hinted rates would remain unchanged in September.

In Seoul, most large-cap stocks were mixed.

Market behemoth Samsung Electronics Co. fell 0.6 percent, top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. declined 0.2 percent, Hanjin KAL Corp., the parent firm of Korean Air Co., shed 0.4 percent and leading auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis Co. was down 0.9 percent.

Among gainers, state utility Korea Electric Power Corp. rose 1.7 percent, leading cosmetics firm AmorePacific Corp. jumped 4.4 percent, leading battery maker LG Energy Solution gained 0.2 percent and leading refiner SK Innovation Co. was up 1.5 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,321.55 won against the US dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 3.65 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)