Korean shares open lower on Wall Street losses

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 0.38 points, or 0.02 percent, to 2,047.38 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The decline followed overnight losses on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.45 percent, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index decling 0.66 percent.

Large-cap stocks were mixed across the board. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. lost 0.32 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor was up 1.50 percent, while global chipmaker SK hynix gained 0.30 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,095.50 won against the U.S. dollar, down 3.30 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)