Seoul shares open higher despite recession worries

Economy

Published: 22 Dec. 2022, 09:31

Seoul shares open higher despite recession worries

Seoul shares opened higher Thursday, tracking Wall Street gains overnight, amid persistent worries about a global recession.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 9.51 points, or 0.41 percent, to 2,338.46 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

U.S. stocks rallied overnight, boosted by strong earnings from some major companies and positive consumer confidence data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.6 percent, the S&P 500 rose 1.49 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.54 percent.

Concerns about a global recession are mounting, with the U.S. Federal Reserve reaffirming its hawkish stance in its fight against inflation.

Last week, the Fed vowed to continue its monetary tightening policy until inflation is brought under control. The Bank of Japan earlier this week said it will raise 10-year government bond yields to around 0.5 percent from the previous upper limit of 0.25 percent, a decision seen as a switch to monetary tightening.

In Seoul, most big-cap stocks traded higher.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. rose 0.52 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix climbed 1.03 percent.

Samsung Biologics, the biotech arm of Korea's Samsung Group, advanced 0.86 percent and major chemical firm LG Chem rose 0.16 percent.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution remained flat while Samsung SDI added 0.32 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,280.90 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 4.8 won from the previous session's close.