Seoul stocks eke out gains after volatile trading on monetary tightening woes

SEOUL, Nov. 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks gained ground late Friday morning after volatile trading amid growing uncertainty over the pace of the U.S. monetary tightening.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had added 5.23 points, or 0.23 percent, to 2,334.42 as of 11:20 a.m.

The KOSPI opened lower but moved between gains and losses throughout morning session as investors remain uneasy over the Fed's monetary policy direction.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said rates could be raised to a higher level than initially thought after the U.S. central bank delivered another 75 basis point increase Wednesday.

Overnight, Wall Street's major indexes dropped for a second straight day.

In Seoul, large cap shares were mixed across the board.

Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics inched up 0.17 percent, and smaller rival SK hynix added 0.24 percent.

In contrast, refiner SK Innovation plunged 6.07 percent, messenger app operator Kakao lost 0.8 percent, and car parts maker Hyundai Mobis was down 0.92 percent.

The local currency had been trading at 1,425.2 won against the greenback, down 1.4 won from Thursday's close as of 11:20 a.m.

fairydust@yna.co.kr
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