Seoul stocks open higher after 7-day losing streak

Seoul stocks opened higher Friday after the previous session's over 7 percent dip amid woes over AI trade and U.S. inflation.

The Kospi opened up 99.77 points, or 1.8 percent, at 5,653.99.

The modest gain followed a sharp sell-off on Thursday, when investor jitters sent the index plunging 454.59 points, or 7.57 percent, from the previous session to close at 5,554.22. 

Overnight, major stocks indexes on Wall Street closed higher, but major AI and semiconductor shares ended in negative territory.

The S&P 500 added 0.33 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq inched up 0.08 percent.

U.S. producer price data posted the largest gain in 4 1/2 years in September, further solidifying speculation that the Federal Reserve will raise key rates to rein in inflation.

BY YONHAP, LEE TAE-HEE [[email protected]]