Seoul shares open higher on eased U.S. inflation woes

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Seoul shares open higher on eased U.S. inflation woes

Published: 16 Jan. 2023, 10:06 Updated: 16 Jan. 2023, 10:12

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows stock and foreign exchange markets open on Monday. [YONHAP]

Korean stocks opened higher Monday, following the gains on Wall Street last week amid eased inflation in the United States that raised hopes for the Federal Reserve to slow its interest rate hikes.

The benchmark Kospi advanced 7.36 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,393.45 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

All major U.S. stock indexes closed higher Friday, with the S&P 500 and tech-rich Nasdaq hitting the highest level in a month, buoyed by expectations the Fed could ease its interest rate hikes after consumer prices rose at the slowest pace in 14 months.

In Seoul, tech stocks and big financial companies gathered ground.

Samsung Electronics rose 0.5 percent, and battery maker LG Energy Solution gained 0.4 percent. LG Chem added 0.8 percent.

Shinhan Financial, a banking firm, jumped 3.5 percent.

Auto stocks fell. Hyundai Motor sank more than 2 percent, and Kia shed 2.6 percent. Hyundai Mobis, an auto components maker under Hyundai Motor, also lost 0.7 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,236.3 won against the dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 5 won from Friday's close.

Yonhap