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Seoul stocks open lower on US tech fall

Dec. 17, 2021 - 09:54 By Yonhap

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) figures are displayed at a dealing room of a local bank in Seoul, Friday. (Yonhap)
South Korean stocks opened lower Friday, tracking an overnight stock plunge on Wall Street as investors digest the US Fed's recent monetary policy decision.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) declined 4.92 points, or 0.16 percent, to 3,001.49 points in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite shed 2.47 percent over the Fed's move to double the pace of its stimulus withdrawal and projections of three rate hikes next year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.08 percent.

Most large caps traded lower in Seoul.

Top cap Samsung Electronics lost 0.77 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix decreased 1.21 percent.

Internet portal operator Naver retreated 0.39 percent, leading chemical firm LG Chem fell 0.71 percent, and top automaker Hyundai Motor traded flat.

Among gainers, pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics added 0.52 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,185.25 won against the US dollar, down 1.35 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)