Seoul stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight falls on Wall Street, amid concerns that the US Federal Reserve may continue its aggressive monetary tightening following solid economic data.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 1.05 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,381.76 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
The unexpectedly strong US jobs report and service sector activity released early this week bolstered the case for the Fed to keep policy tightening to tame runaway inflation.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said last week that the US central bank could pivot to slower rate rises as soon as December.
In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. rose 0.2 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. climbed 0.8 percent, and leading auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis Co. gained 0.2 percent.
Among decliners, Hanjin KAL Corp, parent firm of national flag carrier Korean Air Co., fell 3.7 percent, leading cosmetics firm Amorepacific Corp. gained 1.9 percent, and the country's sole aircraft manufacturer Korea Aerospace Industries Co. was down 0.3 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,317.45 won against the US dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 4.25 won from the previous day's close. (Yonhap)
