SEOUL, July 29 (Yonhap) — South Korean stocks traded bullish late Friday morning, as investors speculated that a second consecutive quarterly contraction in the U.S. economy may prod the U.S. Federal Reserve to take rate hikes that are less aggressive than previously expected.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 17.04 points, or 0.7 percent, to trade at 2,452.31 points as of 11:20 a.m.
Stocks came off to a solid start after a 1.03 percent gain on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a 1.08 percent advance on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite.
Investors believe that the U.S. Fed may not take sharper-than-expected rate hikes to fight rising inflation, given an economic recession.
The U.S. central bank on Thursday also hinted at a possible slowdown in policy tightening, following an aggressive 0.75-percentage point hike in the benchmark interest rates.
Most large caps traded higher in Seoul on foreign and institutional buying.
Market behemoth Samsung Electronics rose 0.32 percent, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix lost 1.51 percent.
Internet portal operator Naver jumped 4.25 percent, with its rival Kakao advancing 2.76 percent.
Bio heavyweight Samsung Biologics grew 0.93 percent, and financial heavyweight KB Financial Group increased 1.05 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,298.45 won against the U.S. dollar, down 2.35 won from the previous session’s close.
Source: Yonhap News Agency