SEOUL — Seoul shares extended gains late Thursday morning, tracking Wall Street gains, amid concerns over the U.S. Federal Reserve’s continued rate hikes to tame inflation.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 42.80 points, or 1.76 percent, to 2,470.70 as of 11:20 a.m.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1 percent to 34,128.05 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.9 percent to 12,070.59.
Investors now await U.S. employment data to be released Thursday (U.S. time) to take a cue in their future investment directions, following hotter-than-expected inflation data Tuesday.
The U.S. Consumer Price Index data showed prices rose at a higher-than-expected clip of 0.5 percent in January. The Fed said it is not done yet in its monetary tightening to bring down inflation.
Institutions and foreigners bought a combined 471 billion won (US$368 million) worth of stocks, offsetting individuals’ selling valued at 472 billion won.
In Seoul, most large-cap stocks advanced.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. rose 1.8 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. climbed 1.3 percent, top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. jumped 3.9 percent, and national flag carrier Korean Air Co. gained 2 percent.
Among decliners, No. 2 steelmaker Hyundai Steel Co. fell 0.4 percent, Hybe Co., the Korean entertainment agency behind supergroup BTS, dropped 3.2 percent, and leading wireless services provider SK Telecom Co. shed 3.2 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,280.75 won against the U.S. dollar, up 1.45 won from the previous session’s close.
Source: Yonhap News Agency