SEOUL– Seoul shares extended gains late Monday morning as investors expect a slowdown in U.S. wage growth and contraction in the services sector may prod the Federal Reserve to go easy on its aggressive rate hike plans.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 47.20 points, or 2.06 percent, to 2,337.17 points as of 11:20 a.m.
The main index tracked gains on Wall Street, with foreign and institutional stock purchases valued at a combined 707 billion won (US$566 million) offsetting individuals’ selling valued at 704 billion won.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.1 percent to 33,630.61 points, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.6 percent to 10,569.29.
In Seoul, most large-cap stocks advanced across the board.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. rose 2.5 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. climbed 2.7 percent, top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. jumped 3.1 percent, and national flag carrier Korean Air Co. gained 3 percent.
Among decliners, leading wireless services provider SK Telecom Co. fell 0.1 percent, leading builder Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. declined 0.1 percent, and No. 3 wireless services firm LG Uplus Corp. shed 0.5 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,248.05 won against the U.S. dollar, up 20.55 won from the previous session’s close, as of 11:20 a.m.
Source: Yonhap News Agency