Shares open lower as rally takes breather

The Kospi fell 8.02 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,606.28 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

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

Shares opened lower Thursday as investors unloaded shares, following the five-session winning streak and overnight Wall Street losses.

The Kospi fell 8.02 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,606.28 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

On Wednesday, the Kospi had soared 1.78 percent to close at 2,614.30, its highest point since Sept. 15.

U.S. stocks fell overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipping 1.27 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also tumbling 1.50 percent.

In Seoul, most blue chips traded lower across the board, with Samsung Electronics falling 0.53 percent and SK hynix also down 0.57 percent.

LG Energy Solution slipped by 0.92 percent, and Samsung SDI also dropped by 1.84 percent. Posco Holdings slumped 0.71 percent.

Hyundai Motor and Kia, however, added 0.40 percent and 2.95 percent, respectively.

The local currency was trading at 1,304.05 won against the dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 5.15 won from the previous session's close.

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