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An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Thursday. (Yonhap) |
Seoul shares opened more than 1 percent higher Thursday, tracking overnight tech gains on Wall Street, amid expectations the Bank of Korea is likely to freeze its policy rate later in the day.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 27.09 points, or 1.08 percent, to 2,532.59 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Wall Street finished higher Wednesday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallying 1.59 percent ahead of the release of Nvidia's earnings results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.54 percent and the S&P 500 advanced 1.1 percent.
Nvidia's second-quarter earnings results, reported after the bell, topped estimates, with quarterly revenue jumping 171 percent on-year driven by the artificial intelligence craze.
Also, the BOK is widely expected to freeze its key interest rate amid an economic slowdown and cooling inflation.
In Seoul, most large-cap stocks opened higher, with tech companies leading the gains.
Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics rose 2.24 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix surged 6.21 percent.
Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution went up 0.57 percent, and top carmaker Hyundai Motor added 0.27 percent.
Steel giant Posco Holdings added 0.91 percent and major chemical firm LG Chem advanced 1.07 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,328.5 won against the US dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 11.2 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)
