Seoul shares open higher on eased Fed rate hike woes

Screens at a Hana Bank branch in central Seoul show Korea's market on Thursday. [NEWS1]

Korean stocks opened higher Friday as higher-than-expected U.S. economic growth and solid consumer demand boosted hopes for a pause in the Federal Reserve's rate hike march, despite stubborn inflation.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 12.04 points, or 0.52 percent, to 2,311.12 in the first 15 minutes of trading, making a rebound from the previous day's crash.

Overnight, all three major U.S. indexes closed lower due to a slide in tech blue chips that posted disappointing earnings.

Kospi also closed down 2.71 percent and Kosdaq 3.50 percent on Thursday.

Data showed that the U.S. economy expanded 4.9 percent in the third quarter, the strongest reading in almost two years, fueled by a surge in consumer spending.

In Seoul, big-cap shares traded mixed.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 0.45 percent, but SK hynix, the country's No. 2 chipmaker, lost 1.75 percent.

Battery shares also rebounded slightly.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution rose 0.63 percent, its smaller rival Samsung SDI jumped 2.72 percent, and POSCO Future M went up 0.8 percent.

Auto shares also gained ground, with Hyundai Motor climbing 1 percent, its smaller affiliate Kia advancing 0.86 percent and its auto parts-making affiliate Hyundai Mobis up 3.7 percent.

But bio shares lost ground, with Samsung Biologics down 0.82 percent and Celltrion falling 0.2 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,354.20 won against the U.S. dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 5.8 won from the previous session's close.

BY JIN MIN-JI, YONHAP [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]