Seoul stocks rebound over 2 pct on eased chip rout, Fed bets

SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Yonhap) -- Seoul stocks rebounded by more than 2 percent Friday to snap their seven-day losing streak on an eased chip rout and bets on the Federal Reserve's rate hikes. The Korean won was trading higher against the U. S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed up 113.83 points, or 2.05 percent, to 5,668.05, after rising as high as 5,809.94. Investors went bargain hunting for large-cap tech shares, particularly the country's top chip makers, which tumbled over 10 percent the previous session. During the 2026 IMF-World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh voiced optimism for the U. S. economy and its strength while he refrained from signaling whether there will be a rate hike this month. Warsh's comments revived appetite for risky assets as a series of recent U. S. inflation data signaled that prices are rising at a faster pace than expected. Investor sentiment was also lifted by the Fed chair's expression of optimism for artificial intelligence (AI), which he described as "probably the most consequential change to the U. S. and the global economy in my lifetime." "It is meaningful that the Fed Chair maintained a positive assessment of the AI industry's structural growth, despite concerns over growing credit risks and funding burdens at such companies," Seo Sang-yong, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, said. Financial data is shown on a screen inside the dealing room of Hana Bank in central Seoul, on Oct. 16, 2026. (Yonhap) fairydust@yna.co.kr(END)