Stocks open lower ahead of September Fed meeting

Stocks opened lower Monday as sluggish large-cap tech and auto stocks drove the bourse down. The benchmark Kospi lost 7.06 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,540.62 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 Monday. [YONHAP]

Stocks opened lower Monday as sluggish large-cap tech and auto stocks drove the bourse down.

The benchmark Kospi lost 7.06 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,540.62 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Investors await the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee meeting slated for the following week for clues into the economic policies moving forward.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics dropped 0.28 percent, and rival SK hynix decreased 0.44 percent.

Hyundai Motor fell 0.65 percent, and LG Energy Solution skidded 0.79 percent.

Naver declined 1.63 percent, and KT sank 3.4 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,335.1 won against the dollar, up 1.7 won from Friday's close.

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