Kospi opens lower as Fed rate concerns keep investors wary

Shares opened higher Friday after tech gains on Wall Street, with investors remaining concerned over a possible slower pace of the Federal Reserve's rate cuts.

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

Shares opened higher Friday after tech gains on Wall Street, with investors remaining concerned over a possible slower pace of the Federal Reserve's rate cuts.

The benchmark Kospi fell 25.4 points, or 0.98 percent, to 2,606.43 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, U.S. stocks ended mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.33 percent to 42,374.36, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.76 percent to 18,415.49.

In Seoul, tech stocks were lead gainers.

Samsung Electronics rose 0.2 percent SK hynix jumped 2.9 percent, Korean Air climbed 0.9 percent and LG Energy Solution was up 0.5 percent.

Among decliners, Hyundai Motor fell 1.3 percent, Korea Aerospace Industries declined 1.1 percent and LG Chem was down 0.6 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,380.05 won against the dollar, down 0.15 won from the previous session.

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