Kospi rises 1.12% as U.S. market gains on cooler inflation data

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi opening on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

 
Shares opened higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street led by a cooler-than-expected U.S. producer price index.
 
The Kospi rose 29.24 points, or 1.12 percent, to 2,650.74 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
 
Overnight, major U.S. indexes gained ground as softer producer price data boosted bets the Federal Reserve will start cutting its rates soon.
 
In Seoul, Samsung Electronics advanced 1.97 percent, and SK hynix jumped 3.3 percent.
 
Battery maker LG Energy Solution increased 1.52 percent, and its smaller rival Samsung SDI gained 1.27 percent.
 
Posco Holdings also rose 1.23 percent and chemical producer LG Chem climbed 1.73 percent.
 
The local currency was trading at 1,364.25 won against the dollar, down 6.15 won from the previous session's close.
 

BY YOON SEUNG-JIN, YONHAP [yoon.seungjin@joongang.co.kr]