Stocks open higher before Fed rate decision

U.S. Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington [YONHAP]

Stocks started strong Wednesday, mirroring overnight gains on Wall Street, as investors picked up tech bargains following a sharp price fall ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate-setting decision.

The benchmark Kospi added 31.57 points, or 1.39 percent, to 2,309.56 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, U.S. shares finished higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.38 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite going up 0.48 percent.

The Fed began a two-day monetary policy meeting on Tuesday, where it is widely expected to hold interest rates steady.

Eyes are on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments on its future paths, as he signaled earlier this month that more rate increases are still possible to bring inflation back to its 2 percent target range.

On the Seoul bourse, most top-cap shares opened higher.

Samsung Electronics rose 1.79 percent, and chip maker SK hynix surged 2.58 percent.

Battery maker LG Energy Solution increased 1.43 percent, and steelmaker Posco Holdings advanced 1.34 percent.

LG Chem added 0.45 percent, and Samsung SDI soared 4.0 percent.

Carmakers opened higher, with automaker Hyundai Motor rising 0.71 percent and Kia moving up 0.91 percent.

Internet platform giant Naver rose 2.13 percent, and Kakao climbed 1.07 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,353.55 won against the dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 3.05 won from the previous session's close.

BY SHIN HA-NEE, YONHAP [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]