South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday on increased selling by foreign investors amid tensions between North Korea and the United States.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 0.26 points, or 0.01 percent, to 2,374.06 in the first 25 minutes of trading.

"Foreign investors sold large-cap tech stocks as North Korea risks persist," said Kim Ye-eun, an analyst at Cape Investment & Securities.


US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is "totally prepared" to use military options against North Korea. His latest warning came in response to North Korea's threat a day earlier to shoot down approaching American bombers, even in international air space.

Large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. gained 0.77 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. was up 0.61 percent.

Meanwhile, top steelmaker POSCO was down 1.27 percent, and Naver, the operator of the country's top Internet portal, lost 0.80 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,139.30 won against the US dollar, down 2.50 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)