Seoul shares open higher on hopes for rate cut by Fed

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday after the minutes from the Federal Reserve's rate policy meeting showed that the "vast majority" of its policymakers support a rate cut next month. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 7.53 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,708.66 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Fed released the minutes of the FOMC meeting on July 30-31, which showed that the policymakers believed that it would "likely be appropriate to ease its policy at the next meeting." The next FOMC meeting is set to take place on Sept. 17-18. In Seoul, top tech giant Samsung Electronics added 0.26 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix rose 0.47 percent. Naver, the leading search engine operator, increased 2.56 percent, and its rival Kakao moved up 2.32 percent. Krafton, a game publisher, increased 1.47 percent. Oil refiner SK Innovation climbed 2.31 percent, and cosmetics giant AmorePacific gained 0.33 percent as well. The local currency was trading at 1,334.1 won against the U.S. dollar, up 2.5 won from the previous session's close. Source: Yonhap News Agency