Stocks open lower as Wall Street pares losses

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show stock and foreign exchange markets close on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Shares opened lower Wednesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street.

The Kospi shed 4.34 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,556.90 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.42 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.09 percent.

In Seoul, large caps traded mixed.

Samsung Electronics slipped 0.13 percent, while SK hynix lost 0.87 percent.

Celltrion added 0.24 percent, and Naver climbed 0.87 percent.

Hyundai Motor and its smaller affiliate, Kia, both lost 0.22 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,320.05 won against the dollar, up 4.35 won from the previous session's close.

BY KIM JU-YEON, YONHAP [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]