Stocks open flat despite Wall Street gains overnight

Stocks opened nearly flat Wednesday as market watchers digest Wall Street gains overnight. The benchmark Kospi rose 2.15 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,583.54 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show foreign and stock markets open on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

Stocks opened nearly flat Wednesday as market watchers digest Wall Street gains overnight.

The benchmark Kospi rose 2.15 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,583.54 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

U.S. consumer confidence jumped unexpectedly to a near 18-month high in June. Orders of durable manufactured goods increased last month, and new home sales sharply rose to an over one-year high in May.

Investors have their eye on what U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will say about the direction of the interest rate hike campaign in a speech at a forum in Portugal on Wednesday.

In Seoul, tech firms gathered ground, while auto and steel shares fell.

Battery maker LG Energy Solution added 0.2 percent, and chipmaker SK hynix rose nearly 1 percent.

Samsung Electronics slipped 0.3 percent.

Hyundai Motor fell 0.3 percent, and steel company Posco Holdings slid about 0.9 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,299.70 won against the dollar at around 9:15 a.m., down 0.6 won from Tuesday's close.

BY SOHN DONG-JOO, YONHAP [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]