Seoul shares up late Wed. morning on tech rally amid rate hike worries

SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- Seoul shares extended gains late Wednesday morning, led by a rebound in technology stocks, despite concerns that hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation could prompt further interest rate hikes.

After opening 0.56 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) reversed course and was trading up 35.68 points, or 0.68 percent, at 5,274.81 as of 11:20 a.m.

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 0.3 percent in October from the previous month, exceeding market expectations and fueling concerns that the Federal Reserve could pursue a more aggressive monetary tightening policy to curb inflation.

Investors are also keeping an eye on Anthropic's planned initial public offering (IPO) next week.

In Seoul, tech and defense stocks led the gains.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 0.9 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix climbed 2.06 percent.

Korea Aerospace Industries jumped 7.02 percent, and LIG Defense & Aerospace surged 7.96 percent.

Among decliners, top carmaker Hyundai Motor fell 1.45 percent, and Hanjin KAL, parent firm of Korean Air, plunged 14.23 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,337.20 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., up 7.3 won from the previous session's close.