Kospi opens higher to track overnight Wall Street gains

Shares opened higher Wednesday tracking overnight gains on Wall Street on increasing hopes for more U.S. rate cuts.

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

Shares opened higher Wednesday tracking overnight gains on Wall Street on increasing hopes for more U.S. rate cuts.

The benchmark Kospi rose 0.56 percent, or 14.79 points, to 2,646.47 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, major U.S. indexes closed higher on hopes for additional rate cuts by the Federal Reserve amid lingering concerns about the labor market.

Blue chip tech shares rallied, with AI chip maker Nvidia up 3.97 percent and TSMC up 4.13 percent.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics rose 1.11 percent, and SK hynix jumped 2.69 percent.

Automaker Hyundai Motor gained 1.58 percent, and its affiliate Kia climbed 1.06 percent.

Shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries also soared 2.78 percent.

But battery shares lost ground following a rally in the previous session, with LG Energy Solution down 0.48 percent, Samsung SDI down 0.39 percent, and Posco Future M down 1.79 percent.

Financial shares were also weak. KB Financial slid 4.88 percent, and Samsung Life Insurance plunged 3.37 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,324.80 won against the dollar, down 10.10 won from the previous session.

BY YOON SEUNG-JIN, YONHAP [yoon.seungjin@joongang.co.kr]