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Kospi opens higher amid mixed U.S. job data

Published: 17 Dec. 2025, 09:57

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi opening on Dec. 17. [YONHAP]

Shares opened higher Wednesday on bargain hunting, while U.S. job data provided a mixed picture of the country's labor market.

The benchmark Kospi rose 18.2 points, or 0.46 percent, to 4,017.33 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Major stock indexes on Wall Street closed mixed overnight, as the delayed November job data showed a mixed picture of the American labor market.

The S&P 500 inched down 0.24 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.6 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.23 percent on Tesla, with shares rising over 3 percent due to positive developments in its Robotaxi business.

The U.S. economy added 64,000 jobs last month, according to Labor Department data published on Tuesday. The unemployment rate, however, rose to a four-year high of 4.6 percent.

In Seoul, most large-cap shares were mixed.

Market top-cap Samsung Electronics added 1.22 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix inched up 0.19 percent.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor moved up 0.35 percent, defense giant Hanwha Aerospace rose 0.8 percent, while biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion dipped 0.16 percent.

The won was trading at 1,476 won against the dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 0.07 percent from the previous session's close of 1,477 won.

Yonhap