Seoul stocks open steeply lower on US inflation woes

South Korean stocks opened steeply lower Friday, tracking an overnight Wall Street plunge that was spurred by a bond yields hike.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 84.03 points, or 2.71 percent, to 3,015.66 points in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Stocks deepened losses as investor worries grew globally over post-pandemic inflation, heralded by a bond yields hike.

Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled 3.52 percent, with the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipping 2.45 percent and 1.75 percent, respectively.

Top cap Samsung Electronics lost 3.17 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix shed 4.38 percent.

Giant internet portal operator Naver fell 2.74 percent, but its rival Kakao added 0.41 percent.

Pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics declined 2.19 percent, with Celltrion retreating 1.95 percent.

Leading chemical firm LG Chem moved down 4.04 percent, and top automaker Hyundai Motor shed 2.86 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,122.45 won against the US dollar, down 14.65 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)