Kospi opens higher on expectations of U.S. Fed rate cut

Shares opened higher Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, as investors expect the Federal Reserve will cut rates next week.

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi opening on Friday. [YONHAP]

Shares opened higher Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, as investors expect the Federal Reserve will cut rates next week.

The Kospi rose 0.17 percent, or 4.43 points, to 2,576.52 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

In August, the U.S. core consumer price index and producer price index rose slightly from a month earlier, dashing hopes for a big cut by the Fed next week.

However, market participants expect the U.S. central bank to cut rates by at least 25 basis points during the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee meeting this month.

In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed.

Carmaker Hyundai Motor rose 2.2 percent, state-run Korea Gas Corporation climbed 2.8 percent, Hyundai Steel jumped 3.6 percent, and state utility Korea Electric Power Corporation was up 0.5 percent.

Among decliners, Samsung Electronics fell 1.7 percent, SK hynix declined 2.5 percent, and wireless services provider SK Telecom shed 0.5 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,332.45 won against the dollar, up 6.25 won from the previous session.

BY SHIN HA-NEE, YONHAP [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]