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An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday. (Yonhap) |
Seoul shares opened lower Wednesday following hotter-than-estimated US inflation data.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 39.58 points, or 1.49 percent, to 2,610.06 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.4 percent to 38,272.75, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 1.8 percent to 15,655.60.
Investors have been expecting the US Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates this year amid hope for eased inflation. But January's consumer price index report threw cold water on such expectations.
In Seoul, most large-cap stocks declined.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. fell 1.6 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. plunged 3.1 percent, leading carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. declined 0.8 percent, and national flag carrier Korean Air Co. shed 1.3 percent.
Among gainers, the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. rose 0.2 percent, leading budget carrier Jeju Air Co. climbed 0.4 percent, and Korea Aerospace Industries Co., the country's sole aircraft manufacturer, was up 0.4 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,338.40 won against the US dollar, down 10.3 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)
