Seoul shares open lower on US losses

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Friday tracking overnight losses on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 35.19 points, or 1.46 percent, to 2,380.61 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

After the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's hint at a further rate hike, US stocks closed sharply lower.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.75 percent and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.96 percent.

In Seoul, market heavyweights led the decline.

Top-cap Samsung Electronics decreased 1.44 percent and No. 2 LG Energy Solution sank 2.76 percent.

Top steelmaker Posco Holdings slid 1.99 percent and leading zinc smelter Korea Zinc fell 1.34 percent.

Bank shares also went south, with Hana Financial Group retreating 0.69 percent and KB Financial Group losing 0.17 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,358.85 won against the US dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 1.45 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)