Seoul shares open higher on hope for Fed’s rate cut

Seoul shares opened higher Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, as investors expect the Federal Reserve will cut rates next week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index 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. But market participants expect the U.S. central bank to cut rates by at least 25 basis points when it meets on Sept. 17 and 18. In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. rose 2.2 percent, state-run Korea Gas Corp. climbed 2.8 percent, Hyundai Steel Co. jumped 3.6 percent, and state utility Korea Electric Power Corp. was up 0.5 percent. Among decliners, market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 1.7 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. declined 2.5 percent, and leading wireless services provider SK Telecom Co. shed 0.5 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,332.45 won against the U.S. dollar, up 6.25 won from the previous session. Source: Yonhap News Agency