Shares open lower Tuesday following Wall Street losses

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

Stocks opened lower on Tuesday, tracking losses on Wall Street, as concerns grow that the U.S. Federal Reserve may continue its aggressive monetary tightening following strong services data.

The Kospi fell 16.19 points, or 0.67 percent, to 2,403.13 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

U.S. service sector activity unexpectedly picked up in November, raising concerns that the Fed may not imminently slow down the pace of rate increases.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said last week that the U.S. central bank could pivot to slower rate rises as soon as December.

Large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.

Samsung Electronics fell 0.5 percent, SK hynix declined 0.6 percent, Hyundai Motor shed 0.9 percent and state-run utility Korea Electric Power Corporation dropped 1 percent.

Among gainers, Hanjin KAL, parent firm of Korean Air, rose 0.5 percent, while SK Telecom climbed 1 percent and Jin Air was up 1.7 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,303.80 won against the dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 11.20 won from the previous day's close.

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