Seoul shares opened higher Friday after tech gains on Wall Street, with investors remaining concerned over a possible slower pace of the Federal Reserve's rate cuts.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 25.4 points, or 0.98 percent, to 2,606.43 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Overnight, U.S. stocks ended mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.33 percent to 42,374.36, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.76 percent to 18,415.49.In Seoul, tech stocks were lead gainers.Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. rose 0.2 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. jumped 2.9 percent, national flag carrier Korean Air Co. climbed 0.9 percent, and leading battery maker LG Energy Solution Ltd. was up 0.5 percent.Among decliners, top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. fell 1.3 percent; Korea Aerospace Industries Co., the country's sole aircraft manufacturer, declined 1.1 percent; and LG Chem Ltd. was down 0.6 percent.The local currency was trading at 1,380.05 won against the U. S. dollar, up 0.15 won from the previous session.Source: Yonhap News Agency
- October 12, 2026
