Seoul shares extended gains late Wednesday morning, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, as U.S. inflation slid to a two-year low, easing concerns that the U.S. Federal Reserve will continue its aggressive rate hikes.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index had risen 25.55 points, or 0.99 percent, to 2,600.27 as of 11:20 a.m.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.2 percent.

The U.S. consumer price index, a key inflation gauge, rose 3 percent in June from a year earlier, the smallest increase since March 2021.

The sharp slowdown in U.S. inflation is increasing chances that the U.S. central bank is nearing the end of its aggressive monetary tightening policy, analysts said.

Earlier in the day, the Bank of Korea held its key rate unchanged at 3.5 percent due to a slowdown and easing inflation.

In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.

Market behemoth Samsung Electronics Co. rose 0.7 percent, leading wireless services provider SK Telecom Co. climbed 0.4 percent, top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. gained 0.3 percent, and state utility Korea Electric Power Corp. was up 3 percent.

Among decliners, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. fell 0.5 percent, national flag carrier Korean Air Co. declined 0.6 percent, and the country's sole aircraft manufacturer Korea Aerospace Industries Co. shed 1 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,274.10 won against the U.S. dollar at 11:20 a.m., up 14.6 won from the previous session's close.

Source: Yonhap News Agency