South Korean stocks opened a tad lower Tuesday, dampened by concern that this week's European Union summit will not suffice to tame the prolonged crisis, analysts said.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 1.19 points, or 0.07 percent, to 1,824.19 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Shares lost ground across the board, with steelmakers and machineries leading the fall.

Top-cap Samsung Electronics, however, rebounded 0.88 percent after three days of losses.

The local currency was trading at 1,160.85 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 0.85 won from Monday's close. (Yonhap News)