Home > Business > Finance

Kospi opens slightly higher on U.S. gains

Published: 14 Aug. 2025, 10:23

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi and won opening on Aug. 14 [YONHAP]

Korean stocks started slightly higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street on growing hopes for the Federal Reserve's monetary easing.

The Kospi rose 8.14 points, or 0.25 percent, to 3,232.51 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

In the United States, the benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes climbed to new highs Wednesday (U.S. time) on the previous day's mild inflation data and the government's repeated calls for a rate cut.

The S&P 500 gained 0.32 percent and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.14 percent to close at new all-time highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also added 1.04 percent.

In Seoul, battery and auto shares led the early gains.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution advanced 1.67 percent, and Posco Future M increased 1.38 percent.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor mounted 0.93 percent, and its auto parts affiliate Hyundai Mobis climbed 0.33 percent.

Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace rose 1.37 percent following a $250 million deal to export its homegrown K9 self-propelled howitzers to Vietnam.

However, top-cap Samsung Electronics fell 0.63 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,380.1 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., down 0.12 percent from the previous session of 1,381.7 won.

Yonhap