Seoul: Seoul shares opened lower Friday, tracking losses on Wall Street, as investors awaited a swath of Chinese data set to be released later in the day. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 5.56 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,521.93 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
According to Yonhap News Agency, U.S. stocks declined overnight following the previous day's rally on signs of slowing inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.16 percent to 43,153.13 points Thursday (U.S. time), and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite dropped 0.89 points to 19,338.29 points. Investors' eyes are now on Chinese data, including retail sales and the quarterly growth, both scheduled to be released later Friday.
In Seoul, large-cap stocks traded mixed. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 0.92 percent, top carmaker Hyundai Motor declined 1.83 percent, and leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai shed 0.24 percent. LG Chem dropped 1.23 percent, while leading shipping firm HMM was down 1.56 percent. Among gainers, national flag carrier Korean Air rose 1.74 percent, and state utility firm Korea Electric Power Corp. climbed 1.23 percent. No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix advanced 0.95 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,456.85 won against the U.S. dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 0.15 won from the previous session.