Seoul shares open lower ahead of U.S. inflation data

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Seoul shares open lower ahead of U.S. inflation data

Published: 09 May. 2023, 09:57 Updated: 09 May. 2023, 15:11

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows stock and foreign exchange markets open on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

Stocks opened a tad lower Tuesday as Wall Street ended mixed ahead of key U.S. inflation data.

The Kospi slipped 5.59 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,507.62 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.17 percent and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.18 percent as investors awaited consumer price data slated for Wednesday, which is expected to affect the Federal Reserve's next steps.

In Seoul, market heavyweights fell as Samsung Electronics lost 0.91 percent and Hyundai Motor retreated 1.23 percent.

Financial shares also lost ground, with KB Financial Group sinking 0.71 percent and Hana Financial Group sliding 0.71 percent.

But refinery and battery sectors trended higher. SK Innovation rose 2.22 percent and LG Energy Solution gained 1.08 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,324.4 won against the dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 3 won from Monday's close.

Yonhap