Seoul stocks open lower on Wall Street losses

SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- Seoul stocks opened lower Wednesday, taking a cue from overnight falls on Wall Street, as the U.S. Federal Reserve is set to hold its interest-setting meeting.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 8.8 points, or 0.38 percent, to 2,326.42 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

U.S. stocks closed lower as a surprising rebound in U.S. job opening data dashed investors' hopes the central bank may slow down the pace of rate hikes.

The S&P 500 fell by 0.41 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 0.24 percent and the Nasdaq Composite by 0.89 percent.

The data comes as investors wait for the Fed's policy meeting scheduled Wednesday (local time).

In Seoul, most large cap shares started weak.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics inched down 0.83 percent, while rival chipmaker SK hynix added 0.12 percent.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor dipped 1.52 percent, chemical firm LG Chem advanced 0.58 percent, and battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 0.89 percent.

The local currency was trading hands at 1,419.7 won against the greenback, down 2.5 won from the previous session's close, as of 9:15 a.m.

fairydust@yna.co.kr
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