Stocks open lower Friday following recent rallies

Electronic display boards at Hana Bank in central Seoul show stock and foreign exchange markets on Friday morning. [YONHAP]

Stocks opened lower Friday, as investors took a breather after recent rallies fueled by optimism that the U.S. Federal Reserve may slow the pace of interest rate hikes.

The Kospi fell 21.94 points, or 0.88 percent, to 2,457.90 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The latest data from the U.S. showed its manufacturing contracted last month for the first time in two and a half years, with a measurement of consumer spending having risen at a slower-than-expected pace in October, an indication that the Fed's aggressive monetary tightening is cooling the economy.

Stocks have rallied this week as Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other Fed policymakers suggested the central bank is heading for a slowdown of rate hikes, after four successive 75 basis-point increases to tame runaway inflation.

In Seoul, most major stocks lost ground.

Samsung Electronics slid 1.8 percent and LG Energy Solution fell 1 percent.

Posco Holdings lost 0.7 percent and Kia, the smaller affiliate of Hyundai Motor, sank about 1 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,300.90 won against the dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 1.2 won from Thursday's close.

BY LIM JEONG-WON, YONHAP [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]