Seoul shares open higher on FOMC meeting

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday as the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting results were in line with market expectations, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 16.23 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,044.68 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Tech shares led the rise, with Samsung Electronics adding 0.27 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix climbing 1.08 percent. LG Electronics advanced 0.33 percent.

Builders also opened higher, with Hyundai Engineering & Construction moving up 2.21 percent and Daewoo Engineering & Construction increasing 3.3 percent. Daelim Industrial rose 1.65 percent.

As widely expected, the word "patient" was removed from the Federal Reserve's formal statement that came out after its two-day policy review meeting, and the Fed indicates that low interest rates would last longer than expected.

The local currency was trading at 1,112.70 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 17.20 won from Wednesday's close. (Yonhap)