Weak Tesla earnings drag down Korean EV makers amid shares slip

Seoul shares opened lower Thursday, tracking an overnight fall on Wall Street. The Kospi fell 0.58 percent, or 14.42 points, to 2,455.27 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

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

Seoul shares opened lower Thursday, tracking an overnight fall on Wall Street.

The Kospi fell 0.58 percent, or 14.42 points, to 2,455.27 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3 percent to 37,806.39, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.4 percent to 15,481.92.

Tesla reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter, which dragged down domestic EV battery makers.

In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed.

Samsung Electronics rose 0.4 percent, Hyundai Motor climbed 0.3 percent, Korea Aerospace Industries gained 0.6 percent and SK Telecom was up 0.3 percent.

Among the losers, SK hynix fell 0.4 percent, LG Energy Solution dropped 4 percent and SK Innovation shed 4.1 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,336.75 won against the dollar, down 0.25 won from the previous session's close.

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