Kospi opens lower after Wall Street losses

Shares dropped more than 1 percent after opening Thursday, taking a cue from Wall Street losses prompted by an underwhelming earnings result by global AI chip giant Nvidia.

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

Shares dropped more than 1 percent after opening Thursday, taking a cue from Wall Street losses prompted by an underwhelming earnings result by global AI chip giant Nvidia.

The benchmark Kospi fell 31.62 points, or 1.18 percent, to 2,658.21 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight in the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.39 percent, with the S&P 500 losing 0.6 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite slipped 1.12 percent higher as well.

Wall Street lost ground as Nvidia's closely followed second-quarter earnings result failed to impress investors, despite having beaten market expectations.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix plunged 3.27 percent and 6.36 percent, respectively.

Energy shares also extended losses from the previous session, as SK Innovation shed 0.37 percent and S-Oil fell 0.16 percent.

Hyundai Motor, meanwhile, added 1.74 percent following the company's new mid- to long-term business strategy announced the previous day. Kia also gained 0.86 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,338.15 won against the dollar, down 0.85 won from the previous session.

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