Stocks open lower Wednesday as investors awaited BOK's decision on policy rate

Finance

Published: 12 Oct. 2022, 10:53

Stocks open lower Wednesday as investors awaited BOK's decision on policy rate

Electronic display boards at Hana Bank in central Seoul show stock and foreign exchange markets Wednesday. [YONHAP]

Stocks opened lower Wednesday as investors awaited the Bank of Korea (BOK)'s decision on the policy rate later in the day amid woes over a global economic recession.

The Kospi lost 7.74 points, or 0.35 percent, to 2,184.33 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Korea's central bank decided on a half-point increase to the base rate after the market opened, delivering another rate hike to combat inflation.

The BOK has been lifting its policy rate since August last year, including an unprecedented big-step hike of 50 basis points in July.

Overnight, Wall Street closed mixed ahead of several key inflation reports out later in the week, with the S&P 500 slipping 0.65 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.12 percent. The Nasdaq Composite declined 1.1 percent, hitting the lowest point since July 2020.

In Seoul, most shares opened mixed.

Samsung Electronics added 1.62 percent, and SK hynix gained 1.77 percent.

Carmakers traded lower, with Hyundai Motor sinking 0.89 percent and its affiliate Kia falling 0.15 percent.

LG Chem went down 2.18 percent, and battery maker LG Energy Solutions lost 2.31 percent.

The won was trading at 1,432.40 won against the dollar as of 10:25 a.m., down 3.10 won from the previous session's close.

BY LIM JEONG-WON, YONHAP [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]