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An electronic board at the dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul shows the Kospi at 2,993.89 points on Tuesday. (Yonhap) |
South Korean shares opened lower Tuesday, bucking the overnight advance on Wall Street amid concerns over the spread of the omicron variant.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 5.20 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,994.35 points in the first 15 minutes of trading.
US shares advanced on optimism that the global economy can ride out the COVID-19 pandemic and tightening monetary policy.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.98 percent to 36,302.38 and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index ticked up 1.4 percent to 15,871.26.
In Seoul, tech and auto stocks led the overall market slump.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. fell 0.5 percent to 79,800 won, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. declined 0.4 percent to 125,500 won, and top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. dipped 0.7 percent to 212,000 won.
Among gainers, national flag carrier Korean Air Lines Co. rose 0.2 percent to 28,850 won, leading refiner SK Innovation Co. climbed 0.7 percent to 225,500 won, and state utility Korea Electric Power Corp. jumped 6.3 percent to 22,800 won.
The local currency was trading at 1,186.00 won against the US dollar, up 0.80 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)
