Seoul stocks open lower on Wall Street losses

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday, following overnight losses on Wall Street amid the growing toll of the coronavirus pandemic around the world.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 7.85 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,178.21 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Major US stock indices ended weaker on Monday (New York time), with the confirmed COVID-19 toll topping 13 million globally.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.13 percent to 10,390.84, snapping a three-session winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.04 percent and S&P 500 dipped 0.94 percent. 

Most large caps traded lower in Seoul.

Market behemoth Samsung Electronics rose 0.37 percent while No. 2 chipmaker retreated 0.72 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor shed 0.49 percent, and leading chemical firm LG Chem dipped 1.28 percent.

Pharmaceutical giant Samsung BioLogics gained 2.05 percent.

Internet giant Naver lost 2.69 percent, with its rival Kakao falling 2.27 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,204.8 won against the US dollar, down 3.9 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)