Seoul shares edge higher amid market uncertainty ahead of Fed meeting

South Korean shares edged higher Tuesday, tracking a cue from overnight Wall Street gains, amid market uncertainty ahead of this week's US Federal Reserve meeting.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 0.20 points, or 0.01 percent, to trade at 2,687.65 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise interest rates by half a percentage point this week, kicking off a series of aggressive rate hikes to tackle the highest inflation in decades.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 1.6 percent on tech rallies.

In Seoul, tech and refinery stocks led gains, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. up 0.2 percent to 67,400 won and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. up 0.5 percent to 111,000 won.

Carmakers and chemical issues were among decliners.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. fell 0.8 percent to 185,500 won. No. 2 carmaker Kia Corp. declined 0.8 percent to 83,700 won. Leading chemical firm LG Chem Ltd. shed 1.7 percent to 517,000 won.

The local currency was trading at 1,267.70 won against the US dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 2.50 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)