Stocks open lower as investors await U.S. Fed head's speech

Home > Business > Finance

Stocks open lower as investors await U.S. Fed head's speech

Published: 27 Jun. 2023, 09:49

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show foreign and stock markets open on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Stocks opened lower Tuesday as investors await U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech on monetary policy at a European forum this week.

The benchmark Kospi fell 9.59 points, or 0.37 percent, to 2,572.61 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Investors have remained cautious after Powell said last week that U.S. interest rates will need to be raised once or twice more this year, dampening hopes for the beginning of interest rate cuts.

Eyes are on what Powell will say about the Fed's hawkish monetary tightening and the economy feared to go into recession as he is due to appear at a forum in Portugal on Wednesday.

In Seoul, tech heavyweights echoed the losses of their U.S. peers on Wall Street overnight.

Samsung Electronics slipped 0.4 percent, and LG Energy Solution fell 1.4 percent.

Battery components maker Posco Future M dipped nearly 3 percent.

Auto stocks gained. Hyundai Motor climbed 1.8 percent, and Kia rose 0.4 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,307.20 won against the dollar at around 9:15 a.m., up 0.9 won from Monday's close.

BY SOHN DONG-JOO [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]