Seoul stocks open higher on US gains

South Korean shares opened higher Wednesday, tracking gains on Wall Street ahead of this week's rate decisions in Seoul and Washington.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 4.83 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,029.52 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The main index tracked overnight gains on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.58 percent, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index climbing 0.95 percent.

Bae Sung-young, a market analyst at Hyundai Securities Co., said South Korean stocks are moving in line with US equities at a time when local stocks are undervalued.

The results of the US Federal Open Market Committee meeting are set to be released in the wee hours of Thursday (Seoul time).

Also Thursday, the Bank of Korea is set to decide whether to raise its interest rate, with experts forecasting a freeze.

Most large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. gained 0.06 percent and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. was up 1.45 percent.

Meanwhile, top automaker Hyundai Motor fell 0.34 percent and top life insurer Samsung Life was down 0.85 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,163.55 won against the US dollar, up 3.45 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)