An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Feb 15. (Yonhap)
South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday, taking a cue from overnight Wall Street losses ahead of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had decreased 13.62 points, or 0.51 percent, to 2,632.03 points as of 9:15 a.m.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 2.04 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed flat.
The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to start hiking the interest rates from near zero this week, as the Ukraine conflict could further jack up US inflation.
In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 0.43 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix shed 1.29 percent.
Chemical heavyweight LG Chem lost 1.97 percent, and top carmaker Hyundai Motor moved down 0.3 percent. Financial heavyweight KB Financial Group added 1.79 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,240.45 won against the US dollar, up 1.85 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)
MOST POPULAR