Seoul stocks open sharply higher on robust earnings from Nvidia

Seoul stocks opened sharply higher on Thursday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) opened up 187.91 points, or 2.76 percent, to 6,996.12. This increase was driven by Nvidia's strong earnings report, which eased fears of an artificial intelligence (AI) bubble. Nvidia's sales more than doubled from a year earlier, topping Wall Street expectations.

Overnight, major stock indexes on Wall Street closed slightly lower. According to Straits Times Business and The Business Times - Companies & Markets, a Commerce Department report showed annual US inflation increased 3.7 percent in the 12 months through July, above expectations. The economy grew 1.5 percent in the second quarter. These figures added uncertainty to the Federal Reserve's policy outlook, with investors awaiting Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's Jackson Hole speech on August 28.

The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed down 0.02 percent and 0.08 percent, respectively, according to The Korea Times. The central bank's next scheduled meeting is in September, with odds of an interest rate hike at 38.1 percent, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Korea Times, Straits Times Business, The Business Times - Companies & Markets — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.