Seoul shares open sharply lower on Syria woes

South Korean stocks sank nearly 1 percent at the opening bell on Wednesday as a possible U.S.-led military strike on Syria jolted the global financial market, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 18.63 points, or 0.99 percent to 1,867.21 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Most shares lost ground across the board, with large-cap tech and financial companies leading the decline. Samsung Electronics dipped 0.8 percent and banking giant Shinhan Financial Group fell 1.7 percent.

U.S. and European stocks dipped overnight, with the benchmark crude oil hitting a six-month low in the New York market, after the U.S. hinted a military attack against the Syrian government that used chemical weapons on its own civilians may be imminent.

The local currency was trading at 1,118.55 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 2.25 won from Tuesday's close. (Yonhap news)