Kospi falls below 2,400, lowest since August's 'Black Monday'

Kospi dipped below the 2,400 mark on Friday morning, reaching levels not seen since this year’s "Black Monday" in August.

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

Kospi dipped below the 2,400 mark on Friday morning, reaching levels not seen since this year’s "Black Monday" in August.

As of 9:38 a.m., the index was trading at 2,396.49, after hitting a low of 2,392.81 since the market opened.

The Kospi had started at 2,413.05, down 5.81 points or 0.24 percent, in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The decline comes as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hinted at slowing the central bank's rate cut amid signs of lingering inflation.

During a speech held in Dallas, Powell said the economy is showing no signals that the Fed should be "in a hurry to lower rates."

The Korean won opened slightly lower against the U.S. dollar, continuing to hover above the psychologically important level of 1,400 won.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics opened 3.01 percent higher as investors hunted for bargains after its recent losing streak.

SK hynix added 2.02 percent, while LG Energy Solution plunged 7.82 percent.

LG Chemical declined by 4.17 percent, and SK Innovation shed 6.62 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,406.4 won against the greenback, down 1.3 won from the previous session.

BY YONHAP, WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]