Stocks open flat as investors turn cautious after short selling ban

Shares opened flat Thursday as investors took to the sidelines gauging the U.S. Federal Reserve's future rate policy in the wake of Korea's short selling ban.

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

Shares opened flat Thursday as investors took to the sidelines gauging the U.S. Federal Reserve's future rate policy in the wake of Korea's short selling ban.

The Kospi fell 0.04 points, or 0.00 percent, to 2,421.58 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

U.S. stocks closed mixed overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.12 percent and the Nasdaq Composite rising 0.08 percent, as investors largely sat on the sidelines while heeding signs of the Fed's future policy direction.

Blue chips traded mixed across the board, with Samsung Electronics inching down 0.14 percent, while LG Energy Solution gained 0.11 percent. SK Hynix rose 0.08 percent.

Posco Holdings and Hyundai Motor fell 0.22 percent and 0.23 percent, respectively. Kia rose 0.78 percent.

Naver gained 0.35 percent, and Kakao gained 1.02 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1311.40 won against the dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 0.80 won from the previous session's close.

BY KIM JU-YEON, YONHAP [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]