South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday weighed down by a U.S. federal banker's remarks implying that a cut in its stimulus may be drawing near, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 10.03 points, or 0.52 percent, to 1,906.19 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Blue-chip exporters lost ground. Tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics dipped nearly 2 percent, with steelmaker POSCO falling 1.7 percent.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said on Monday (U.S. time) that it is wrong to think the Fed will maintain its boost measures to prop up the economy "indefinitely," and that the central bank won't necessarily wait for the market to fully recover to ramp down monthly bond purchases.
The local currency was trading at 1,114.35 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 0.55 won from Monday's close. (Yonhap News)
