Stocks open higher amid hopes for rate hike pause

The Kospi rose 44.09 points, or 1.84 percent, to 2,446.67 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

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

Shares opened higher Wednesday, with Wall Street buoyed by dovish comments on interest rates by U.S. Federal Reserve officials.

The Kospi rose 44.09 points, or 1.84 percent, to 2,446.67 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4 percent to 33,739.30, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6 percent to 13,562.84.

Investors have expected another rate hike this year due to better-than-expected U.S. employment data in September.

But Fed officials have begun to acknowledge a lesser need for further rate hikes given the current economic conditions, analysts said.

Investors are keeping a close eye on developments in the Israel-Hamas conflict for cues in reorganizing their portfolios.

In Seoul, most large-caps advanced.

Samsung Electronics rose 2.6 percent, SK hynix climbed 2.9 percent, LG Energy Solution jumped 4.1 percent and Korean Air was up 1.5 percent.

Among decliners, SK Telecom fell 0.6 percent, S-Oil declined 2.4 percent and Korea Aerospace Industries shed 1.2 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,339.65 won against the dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 9.85 won from the previous session's close.

BY KIM JU-YEON, YONHAP [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]