Kospi falls 0.72% as investors await Fed's rate decision

Shares opened lower Tuesday, following a mixed close on Wall Street, as investors await the Federal Reserve's rate decision and earnings from major tech firms.

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi opening on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Shares opened lower Tuesday, following a mixed close on Wall Street, as investors await the Federal Reserve's rate decision and earnings from major tech firms.

The Kospi fell 19.99 points, or 0.72 percent, to 2,745.54 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1 percent to 40,539.93 points, but the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.07 percent to 17,370.20.

This week, all eyes are on the Fed's policy decision and earnings results of big tech firms, such as Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Samsung Electronics.

The U.S. central bank is widely expected to cut rates within months.

In Seoul, most large-cap stocks declined.

Samsung Electronics fell 0.9 percent, SK hynix declined 2.7 percent, Hyundai Motor shed 0.6 percent and Hyundai Mobis was down 0.9 percent.

Among gainers, HMM rose 1.1 percent, LG Energy Solution climbed 0.8 percent and SK Innovation was up 1 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,384.40 won against the dollar, up 2.5 won from the previous session's close.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]