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An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap) |
Seoul shares opened lower Tuesday, tracking falls on Wall Street, amid investor concerns over a global recession after the US Federal Reserve vowed to continue its monetary tightening to tame inflation.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index declined 10.63 points, or 0.45 percent, to 2,341.54 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.49 percent to 32,757.54, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 1.49 percent to 10,546.03.
Last week, the Fed raised its benchmark rate by 50 basis points, and Fed officials indicated plans to raise the rate to a higher-than-expected level until they are confident inflation has been subdued.
Most large-cap stocks declined across the board.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. fell 1.6 percent, top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. dropped 1.6 percent, leading refiner SK Innovation Co. shed 1.5 percent, and the state-run Korea Gas Corp. was down 1.4 percent.
Among gainers, national flag carrier Korean Air Co. rose 0.3 percent, the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. climbed 0.2 percent, and leading car battery maker LG Energy Solution gained 0.4 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,301.45 won against the US dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 1.45 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap).
