Home > Business > Finance

Kospi opens higher despite U.S. fall

Published: 19 Mar. 2025, 09:52

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi opening on March 19. [NEWS1]

Seoul shares opened higher Wednesday, despite Wall Street losses, led by tech and bio shares.

The Kospi added 20.50 points, or 0.78 percent, to 2,632.84 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, U.S. shares sank amid uncertainty surrounding the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff scheme and concerns about an economic slowdown.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.62 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite dipped 1.71 percent.

Investors also closely watched the Federal Reserve's two-day rate-setting meeting that began Tuesday and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments on the monetary policy path and an economic assessment.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics surged 1.91 percent, while chip giant SK hynix shed 0.25 percent.

LG Energy Solution advanced 0.92 percent, and Posco Holdings soared 1.64 percent.

Bio shares opened higher. Samsung Biologics increased 0.46 percent, and Celltrion went up 0.32 percent.

Hyundai Motor increased 0.5 percent, while Kia lost 0.41 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,451.75 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., down 1.15 won from the previous session.

Yonhap