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South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Wednesday 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 rose 7.42 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,669.52 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Overnight, the US stock market closed slightly higher on softer-than-expected labor market data that bolstered hopes for an interest rate cut by the Fed.
In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics jumped 1.99 percent following news that US 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 gained 1.04 percent and Samsung SDI added 0.93 percent.
On the contrary, auto and energy-related stocks traded lower. Top automaker Hyundai Motor fell 0.97 percent and leading refiner SK Innovation lost 2.4 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,375.65 won against the US dollar, up 0.35 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)
