South Korean stocks got off to a weak start on Tuesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street sparked by worse-than-expected Chinese growth data, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 9.95 points, or 0.52 percent, to 1,910.50 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Shares lost ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 0.26 percent and top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis losing 0.37 percent. Leading steelmaker POSCO also moved down 1.7 percent.
U.S. stocks ended lower on Monday, with the Dow Jones industrial average falling 1.79 percent and the NASDAQ composite index losing 2.38 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,123.95 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 3.45 won from Monday's close. (Yonhap News)
