South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, driven by a fall in major steelmakers and insurance companies, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index was down 6.01 points, or 0.26 percent, to trade at 2,289.32 in the first 15 minutes of trading. 

Top steelmaker Posco slipped 1.3 percent and No. 1 insurer Samsung Life Insurance lost 1.7 percent.

But shares of tech blue-chips moved upward. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 0.17 percent, with smaller rival LG Electronics gaining 1.6 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,116.90 won against the US dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 0.9 won from Tuesday's close. (Yonhap)