Seoul stocks open lower on Aug. 29

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean stocks opened slightly lower on Aug. 29, amid indications that the US may raise its key interest rate.

The benchmark KOSPI shed 7.85 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,029.65 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Last week, Federal Reserve leaders hinted at the possibility of an interest-rate hike as early as next month.

Market watchers will also closely monitor US job data to be released on Sept. 1 and the results of the G-20 Leaders’ Summit scheduled to open in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou on the weekend.

Large caps traded mixed across the board.

Top cap Samsung Electronics lost 0.06 percent, with global chipmaker SK hynix also shedding 1.66 percent.

Leading automaker Hyundai Motor declined 1.11 percent.

The South Korean won was trading at 1,127.85 won against the US greenback as of 9:15 a.m., down 14.15 won from the previous session’s close.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)