Seoul shares open sharply higher on US gains amid eased inflation woes
The dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, Friday / Yonhap
Korean shares opened sharply higher Friday, led by gains in major chipmakers, tracking an overnight rally in U.S. shares, as latest U.S. data eased woes over accelerating inflation.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) opened 182.33 points, or 2.7 percent, higher at 6,995.67.
Overnight, the U.S. stock market rose to an all-time high amid easing oil prices.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.7 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.8 percent.
U.S. wholesale inflation cooled in July as energy and food costs declined, which, along with last week's weaker than expected job data, will lessen pressure on the Federal Reserve to tighten policy.
In Seoul, most large-cap shares traded higher.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics increased 0.93 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix jumped 5.34 percent.
SK Square, the parent of SK hynix, added 1.61 percent, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics, an electronics component affiliate of Samsung Electronics, gained 2.16 percent.
The Korean won was trading at 1,418.8 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 0.2 won from the end of stock trading the previous day.