Stocks open higher in Korea Monday as investors await Fed's rate-setting meeting

Stocks opened higher Monday tracking Wall Street gains last week, as investors await the upcoming rate-setting meeting by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Electronic display boards at Hana Bank in central Seoul show stock and foreign exchange markets Monday morning. [YONHAP]

Stocks opened higher Monday tracking Wall Street gains last week, as investors await the upcoming rate-setting meeting by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The benchmark Kospi rose 14.72 points, or 0.65 percent, to 2,283.12 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

U.S. stocks surged Friday, despite weaker than expected earnings results from tech heavyweights, like Amazon and Meta, as investor woes over higher inflation eased.

The Dow Jones Index added 2.6 percent, the S&P500 rose 2.5 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up 2.9 percent at the market close Friday (local time).

Investors are paying close attention to the Fed policy meeting scheduled for Nov. 1 and 2, amid hopes that recent economic data could prod the Fed to raise its policy rate by a smaller-than-expected margin.

In Seoul, most large cap shares opened higher.

Samsung Electronics inched up 2.44 percent, while SK hynix rose 1.44 percent.

Chemical companies and automakers started lower. LG Chem slid 0.81 percent, while Hyundai Motor lost 0.91 percent.

The local currency had been trading at 1,420.2 won against the dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 1.30 won from Friday's close.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO, YONHAP [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]