South Korean stocks opened lower Friday on overnight Wall Street losses, as investors were disappointed by the absence of comments from the US Federal Reserve to help stave off inflation concerns.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 39.41 points, or 1.29 percent, to 3,004.08 points in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dipped 2.11 percent as yields of the US benchmark 10-year Treasury surged above the 1.5-percent threshold.

In Seoul, top cap Samsung Electronics lost 0.97 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix shed 3.17 percent.

Giant internet portal operator Naver fell 3.07 percent, with its rival Kakao moving down 3.22 percent.

Pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics declined 2.67 percent, with Celltrion retreating 1.14 percent.

Leading chemical firm LG Chem added 0.81 percent, while top automaker Hyundai Motor went down 1.49 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,131.65 won against the US dollar, down 6.55 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)