Seoul shares open higher on rate cut hopes

Seoul shares opened higher, backed by a rally in tech shares, after a mixed close on Wall Street, on hopes for additional US rate cuts.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 1.83 percent, or 47.60 points, to 2,643.92 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7 percent to 41,914.75, but the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.04 percent to 18,082.21.

On Wednesday, a Federal Reserve official said it will be appropriate for the US central bank to make additional rate cuts if inflation continues to ease as expected.

Earlier this month, the Fed reduced its key rate by a half percentage point, putting an end to its post-pandemic tightening cycle.

In Seoul, tech stocks led gains.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. rose 4.2 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. jumped 7.9 percent, battery maker Samsung SDI Co. gained 0.3 percent, and state utility Korea Electric Power Corp. was up 0.8 percent.

Among decliners, top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. fell 0.2 percent, leading battery maker LG Energy Solution Ltd. shed 1.1 percent, and leading cosmetics firm Amorepacific Corp. retreated 1.2 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,332.50 won against the US dollar, down 1.5 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)