Seoul shares open higher on U.S. gains, but jitters linger

Seoul shares opened higher Wednesday, tracking gains on Wall Street, two days after their worst rout over fears of a U.S. recession. However, some analysts said worries about market turmoil linger. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 12.17 points, or 0.48 percent, to 2,534.32 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI ended 3.3 percent higher Tuesday after plunging nearly 9 percent Monday due to massive selloffs amid concerns over a recession in the United States. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.76 percent to 38,997.66, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.03 percent to 16,366.85. In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed across the board. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. rose 1.8 percent, top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. climbed 1.5 percent, national flag carrier Korean Air Co. gained 0.3 percent, and leading refiner SK Innovation Co. was up 0.1 percent. Among decliners, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. fell 3 percent, battery maker Samsung SDI C o. declined 0.6 percent, steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 0.9 percent and leading battery firm LG Energy Solution Ltd. was down 1.3 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,376.10 won against the U.S. dollar, down 0.5 won from the previous session's close. Source: Yonhap News Agency