Stocks rise 1% led by tech and auto shares ahead of Fed

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,449.8 points on Wednesday, up 24.72 points, or 1.02 percent, from the previous trading day. [NEWS1]

Shares finished higher Wednesday, with investors paying close attention to the U.S. Federal Reserve's upcoming rate decision. The won rose against the dollar.

The Kospi added 24.72 points, or 1.02 percent, to close at 2,449.8 points.

Trading volume was moderate at about 651 million shares worth some 8.4 trillion won ($6.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 512 to 347.

Foreigners bought a net 197 billion won, while institutions sold 196 billion won, and retail investors offloaded 16 billion won.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the previous session up 1.09 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.67 percent.

The Fed is widely expected to raise rates by 0.25 percentage point to a new range of 4.5 percent to 4.75 percent Wednesday.

Investors are hoping for signs of slower policy tightening by the Fed.

"In addition to the technical rebound after the recent weak sessions, caution against the upcoming FOMC results and the quarterly corporate earnings seem to have affected the stock prices," Kiwoom Securities analyst Han Ji-young said.

In Seoul, tech and auto shares led the Kospi's gains, with chip giants especially boosting the overall market on hopes for an upturn in demand.

Samsung Electronics, rose 1.31 percent to 61,800 won, chipmaker SK hynix jumped 3.28 percent to 91,400 won, and carmaker Hyundai Motor increased 1.8 percent to 170,000 won.

Car battery maker LG Energy Solution added 0.19 percent to 522,000 won, and while Samsung SDI surged 5.11 percent to 720,000 won.

Chemical producer LG Chem shed 0.29 percent to 688,000 won.

The local currency closed at 1,231.3 won against the dollar, down 0.6 won from the previous session's close.

The Kosdaq gained 10.47 points, or 1.41 percent, to close at 750.96 points.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds lost 7.1 basis points to 3.263 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bonds lost 2.6 basis points to 3.510 percent.

BY LEE JAE-LIM, YONHAP [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]