South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday amid the rising concerns that the United States government is moving closer to the possibility of the first-ever default on its debt, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 8.57 points, or 0.43 percent, to 1,985.85 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Shares lost ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 0.35 percent and top steelmaker POSCO losing 0.32 percent. Leading auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis shed 0.72 percent.

Brokerage houses also traded bearish, with Samsung Securities moving down 0.87 percent and KDB Daewoo Securities losing 1.24 percent. Woori Investment and Securities Co. decreased 0.46 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,073.15 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 1.65 won from Monday's close. (Yonhap News)