South Korean stocks advanced more than 1 percent late Wednesday morning backed by gains of chip and battery shares amid hopes for a rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 29.53 points, or 1.11 percent, to 2,691.63 as of 11:20 a.m.
Overnight, the U.S stock market closed slightly higher on softer-than-expected labor market data that bolstered hopes for an interest rate cut by the Fed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.36 percent, while the Nasdaq composite edged up 0.17 percent and the S andP 500 gained 0.15 percent.
In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics jumped 2.79 percent following news that U.S. tech giant Nvidia was considering using the South Korean company’s high bandwidth memory chips in its products.
Battery shares also continued their gains from the previous session. Industry leader LG Energy Solution surged 6.24 percent and Samsung SDI jumped 5.16 percent.
Auto and energy-related stocks also enjoyed brisk trading. Top automaker H
yundai Motor jumped 2.51 percent and leading refiner SK Innovation added 0.86 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,368.9 won against the U.S. dollar, up 7.1 won from the previous session’s close.
Source: Yonhap News Agency
