Stocks open lower, tracking losses on Wall Street

Stocks opened in negative territory on tech declines following overnight Wall Street losses. The benchmark Kospi fell 10.85 points, or 0.41 percent, to 2,605.62 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show stock and foreign exchange markets open on Thursday. [NEWS1]

Stocks opened in negative territory on tech declines following overnight Wall Street losses.

The benchmark Kospi fell 10.85 points, or 0.41 percent, to 2,605.62 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

All three U.S. major stock indexes finished lower Wednesday as investors took profits on monthslong gains after Fitch Ratings downgraded the U.S. credit grade to AA+ from AAA for the first time since 2011, citing "repeated debt limit standoffs and last-minute resolutions."

Private payrolls increased more than expected in July, indicating continued labor market resilience.

In Seoul, big-cap tech shares drove the decline.

Samsung Electronics was flat, and SK hynix was down 0.92 percent.

Naver lost 2.2 percent, and Kakao retreated 1.13 percent.

LG Energy Solution dropped 0.74 percent, and Samsung SDI lost nearly 1.7 percent.

Posco Holdings sank 2.22 percent, and Posco Future M plunged 2.57 percent.

Bio stocks gained ground, with Samsung Biologics jumping 2.15 percent and Celltrion adding 1.28 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,297.70 won against the dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 0.8 won from Wednesday's close.

BY SOHN DONG-JOO, YONHAP [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]