Retail buyers push Kospi up despite Fed rate cut worries

Shares opened higher Wednesday on retail buying, though investors remain cautious due to concerns over a slower pace of the Federal Reserve'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 on retail buying, though investors remain cautious due to concerns over a slower pace of the Federal Reserve's rate cuts.

The benchmark Kospi rose 3.53 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,574.23 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, U.S. stocks closed mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.02 percent to 42,924.89, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 0.18 percent to 18,573.13.

In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed.

Samsung Electronics fell 0.9 percent, Korean Air declined 1.7 percent and state utility Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) shed 0.5 percent.

Among gainers, Hyundai Motor rose 1.5 percent, LG Energy Solution climbed 1.4 percent and SK hynix was up 1.8 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,380.50 won against the U.S. dollar, up 0.4 won from the previous session.

BY CHO YONG-JUN, YONHAP [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]