Seoul shares open lower on fears of global recession

Seoul shares opened lower Tuesday, tracking falls on Wall Street, amid investor concerns over a global recession after the U.S. Federal Reserve vowed to continue its monetary tightening to tame inflation.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) declined 10.63 points, or 0.45 percent, to 2,341.54 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.49 percent to 32,757.54, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 1.49 percent to 10,546.03.

Last week, the Fed raised its benchmark rate by 50 basis points, and Fed officials indicated plans to raise the rate to a higher-than-expected level until they are confident inflation has been subdued.

Most large-cap stocks declined across the board.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 1.6 percent, top carmaker Hyundai Motor dropped 1.6 percent, leading refiner SK Innovation shed 1.5 percent, and the state-run Korea Gas was down 1.4 percent.

Among gainers, national flag carrier Korean Air rose 0.3 percent, the state-run Korea Electric Power climbed 0.2 percent, and leading car battery maker LG Energy Solution gained 0.4 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,301.45 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 1.45 won from the previous session's close.