Seoul shares open lower on inflation woes
Quick Look
Seoul shares opened lower Wednesday, with the KOSPI falling 0.56 percent to 5,209.71, tracking overnight Wall Street losses as investors worried that hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation could prompt Federal Reserve rate hikes.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The KOSPI gained 4.39 percent on Tuesday, buoyed by a rally in U.S. technology stocks and falling oil prices. Overnight, U.S. consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in October from the previous month, higher than expected.
SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- Seoul shares opened lower Wednesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, as investors remained cautious amid concerns that hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation could prompt rate hikes down the road.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 29.42 points, or 0.56 percent, to 5,209.71 at the opening bell.
On Tuesday, the index gained 4.39 percent, buoyed by a rally in U.S. technology stocks and falling oil prices.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.3 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.74 percent.
U.S. consumer prices rose at a higher-than-expected rate of 0.3 percent in October from the previous month, stoking concerns that the Federal Reserve could pursue a more aggressive monetary tightening policy to curb inflation.
Open Questions
- Whether the Federal Reserve will actually pursue rate hikes in response to the October inflation data
- How Seoul shares will perform for the rest of the trading day
