Kospi index falls at start of trading in Seoul
South Korea’s stock market opened lower on Friday, despite overnight gains in the major Wall Street indices. As of 9:15 a.m. local time, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) had fallen by 65.83 points, or 0.95%, to 6,846.54 points.
As The Korea Herald reports, investors refrained from active moves ahead of the Jackson Hole symposium, from which they expected signals regarding the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest-rate policy.
U.S. market performance
The previous day, U.S. stock indices ended trading higher. The S&P 500 gained 0.72%, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.57%.
The U.S. market was mainly supported by technology companies linked to artificial intelligence, including Nvidia. Its shares rose sharply after the release of financial results that exceeded forecasts.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh was due to speak later that day at the Jackson Hole symposium, delivering his first major address as head of the central bank. Analysts were also watching whether the Kospi could exceed the 7,000-point mark.
Shares of major companies declined
In Seoul, most large-cap stocks traded lower. Samsung Electronics shares fell 1.5%, while SK hynix declined 1.79%.
Samsung Biologics shares lost 5.9% after the company announced plans to raise additional capital through a rights offering. Hanwha Aerospace fell 1.48%, and KB Financial declined 0.89%. Meanwhile, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shares rose 0.96%.
The South Korean won was quoted at 1,380.7 won per U.S. dollar, 0.8 won higher than the previous trading session’s closing level.
