Korean shares opened higher Wednesday, tracking gains on Wall Street, on expectations that policymakers around the globe will make concerted efforts to tame market volatility following Britain's decision to leave the European Union last week.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 11.13 points, or 0.57 percent, to 1,947.05 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The main index brushed off a 3.38 percent loss on Thursday and Friday to rebound and gain 0.57 percent on Monday and Tuesday.
Britain's decision to exit the EU was officially announced Friday afternoon, wiping out nearly US$4 trillion from the value of global equities since Friday.
Investors will closely watch if governments and central banks carry out fiscal stimulus packages and take bold monetary easing steps to minimize the post-Brexit market turmoil, analysts said.
On Tuesday, Korea unveiled a plan to pump 20 trillion won ($17 billion), including a 10 trillion-won supplementary budget, into the economy to ease uncertainties and underpin its flagging economy.
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 269.48 points, or 1.57 percent, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index climbing 2.12 percent. Large-cap stocks advanced across the board.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. rose 0.36 percent, leading cosmetics maker AmorePacific Corp. gained 0.24 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. was up 3.21 percent. Among decliners, top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. fell 0.72 percent, and the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. slid 0.17 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,168.55 won against the U.S. dollar, up 2.75 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)
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