Seoul shares open higher as investors brace for monetary tightening

South Korea's stock market opened higher Wednesday amid uncertainty over the direction of the global economy and monetary policy at home and abroad.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 17.27 points, or 0.71 percent, to trade at 2,452.61 as of 9:15 a.m.

Investors are bracing for more monetary tightening policy at home, along with the possibility of hawkish remarks from the United States later this week.

The Bank of Korea is widely expected to raise its interest rate by 0.25 percentage point at a policy meeting Thursday. The US Federal Reserve will hold its annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday (US time), where Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to give a speech.

Overnight, the US stock market ended slightly lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.47 percent, the S&P 500 declined 0.22 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed flat.

In Seoul, large-cap stocks opened mostly higher.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 0.34 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix rose 0.21 percent. Leading car battery maker LG Energy Solution went up 1.24 percent.

Top chemical firm LG Chem climbed 0.16 percent, and Samsung SDI rose 1.7 percent. No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor advanced 0.79 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,340.90 won against the US dollar, up 4.6 won from the previous session's close. The won ended at 1,345.5 won against the greenback Tuesday, the lowest figure since April 28, 2009. (Yonhap)