South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street sparked by concerns over a possible reduction in the United States' quantitative easing moves, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 4 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,989.83 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Shares traded bearish across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 0.73 percent and leading builder Hyundai Engineering & Construction losing 99 percent. No. 2 carmaker Kia Motors shed 0.18 percent.
U.S. stocks ended lower on Wednesday as investors sat on the sidelines due to the rising uncertainties in the Federal Reserve's economic stimulus moves down the road, with the Dow Jones industrial average falling 0.52 percent and the NASDAQ composite index losing 1.11 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,123.95 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 9.95 won from Wednesday's close. (Yonhap News
