Korea's shares open lower after U.S. losses and concerns of Fed tightening

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

Stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight falls on Wall Street, amid concerns that the U.S. Federal Reserve may continue its aggressive monetary tightening following solid economic data.

The Kospi fell 1.05 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,381.76 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The unexpectedly strong U.S. jobs report and service sector activity released early this week bolstered the case for the Fed to keep policy tightening to tame runaway inflation.

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

In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.

Samsung Electronics rose 0.2 percent, SK hynix climbed 0.8 percent and Hyundai Mobis gained 0.2 percent.

Among decliners, Hanjin KAL, parent firm of national flag carrier Korean Air, fell 3.7 percent, cosmetics firm Amorepacific gained 1.9 percent, and the country's sole aircraft manufacturer Korea Aerospace Industries was down 0.3 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,317.45 won against the dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 4.25 won from the previous day's close.

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