An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday. (Yonhap)
South Korean stocks opened nearly unchanged on Wednesday amid expectations that the US Federal Reserve may ease up on its hawkish interest rate hikes.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 1.14 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,236.21 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Softer data on home price growth and consumer confidence, released Tuesday, renewed speculation that the Fed could start scaling down the rate hikes after its November monetary policy meeting set for next week.
In Seoul, tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics rose about 0.5 percent, with top battery maker LG Energy Solution gaining 1.5 percent.
Automakers, however, lost ground. Hyundai Motor was down 0.6 percent and its smaller affiliate Kia fell 1.5 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,428.80 won against the US dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 4.3 won from Tuesday's close. (Yonhap)
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