Seoul shares open higher on Wall Street gains

Seoul shares opened higher Wednesday tracking overnight gains on Wall Street on increasing hopes for more U.S. rate cuts. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.56 percent, or 14.79 points, to 2,646.47 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, major U.S. indexes closed higher on hopes for additional rate cuts by the Federal Reserve amid lingering concerns on the labor market. Blue chip tech shares rallied, with AI chip giant Nvidia up 3.97 percent and TSMC up 4.13 percent. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 1.11 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix jumped 2.69 percent. Top automaker Hyundai Motor gained 1.58 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia climbed 1.06 percent. Major shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries also soared 2.78 percent. But battery shares lost ground following a rally the previous session, with industry leader LG Energy Solution down 0.48 percent, Samsung SDI down 0.39 percent, and POSCO Future M down 1.79 percent. Financial shares were also weak. KB Financial slid 4.88 percent, and Samsung Life Insurance plunged 3.37 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,324.80 won against the U.S. dollar, up 10.10 won from the previous session. Source: Yonhap News Agency