South Korean stocks opened lower Friday in line with overnight losses on Wall Street.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 20.68 points, or 0.85 percent, to 2,406.40 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
US stocks sagged overnight after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated interest rates may be hiked again if needed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7 percent and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.9 percent.
In Seoul, market heavyweights remained weak. Top market cap Samsung Electronics decreased 0.71 percent and leading top battery maker LG Energy Solution sank 2.21 percent.
Top steelmaker Posco Holdings slumped 2.28 percent and leading refiner SK Innovation also shed 2.21 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,318.75 won against the US dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 8.65 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)