Stocks open higher Tuesday on steel rally

Stocks opened higher Tuesday as steel stocks continue to rally ahead of the U.S. rate-setting policy meeting set to kick off later in the day. The benchmark Kospi added 2.79 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,631.32 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

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

Stocks opened higher Tuesday as steel stocks continue to rally ahead of the U.S. rate-setting policy meeting set to kick off later in the day.

The benchmark Kospi added 2.79 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,631.32 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, U.S. stocks closed higher in the run-up to the Federal Reserve's policy meeting this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average grew 0.52 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.19 percent.

During the two-day rate-setting meeting set to begin Tuesday, the U.S. central bank is largely expected to raise the key rate by 0.25 percentage points, and investors seek signs that it might be the end of the cycle of aggressive monetary tightening.

In Seoul, top-cap shares traded mixed.

Samsung Electronics opened flat, and SK hynix shed 0.88 percent.

The two chipmakers are to release their quarterly earnings results later this week.

Battery and steel firms extended their bullish trade.

Posco Holdings surged 1.87 percent, and Posco Future M jumped 5.72 percent.

Carmakers opened higher on bargain hunting, with Hyundai Motor increasing 0.9 percent and Kia going up 0.72 percent.

Among decliners, Samsung Biologics lost 0.81 percent, and Naver sank 0.99 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,284.80 won against the dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 4.9 won from the previous session's close.

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