Korean stocks open higher on eased woes over Fed's rate hikes

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

Seoul stocks opened higher Monday, tracking gains on Wall Street, as investors expect a slowdown in U.S. wage growth and contraction in the services sector may prod the Federal Reserve to go easy on its aggressive rate hike plans.

The benchmark Kospi rose 41.01 points, or 1.8 percent, to 2,330.98 in the first 40 minutes of trading.

Most large-cap stocks advanced across the board.

Samsung Electronics rose 1.9 percent, SK hynix climbed 1.2 percent, Hyundai Motor gained 1.9 percent, and LG Energy Solution was up 3.2 percent.

Among decliners, leading wireless services provider SK Telecom fell 0.5 percent, and Kumho Engineering & Construction declined 0.8 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,250.55 won against the dollar, down 18.05 won from the previous session's close.

Yonhap