Seoul shares open higher on Fed chair's comment

South Korean stocks opened steeply higher Thursday, as US Federal Reserve chairman signaled a rate hike within market expectations amid soaring global commodity prices.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 25.41 points, or 0.94 percent, to trade at 2,728.93 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Stocks rose after the overnight Wall Street stock rallies, after Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday said rates would likely be hiked by only 25 basis points this month, although he warned of more aggressive rate hikes if inflation continues to build up.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite added 1.62 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.79 percent.

In Seoul, market behemoth Samsung Electronics advanced 1.26 percent, with the No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gaining 2.8 percent.

Internet portal operator Naver moved up 2.37 percent, and top carmaker Hyundai Motor climbed 2.05 percent. Bio heavyweight Samsung Biologics slipped 0.26 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,203.85 won against the US dollar, up 2.25 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)