Kospi drops 1.4% amid concerns over U.S. interest rate cuts

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the stock market prices as it opens on Friday. [YONHAP]

Stocks started sharply lower Friday amid expectations over a delay in U.S. interest rate cuts this year.

The Kospi fell 37 points, or 1.4 percent, to 2,597.7 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.06 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq decreased 0.52 percent, extending losses for a fifth consecutive month.

New York Federal Reserve President John Williams has said that he feels no urgency to cut rates, amid looming speculation that the Fed may not lower the rates in the near future.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics moved down 1.88 percent and SK hynix shed 3.18 percent.

Battery makers lost ground, tracking overnight losses of Tesla, with LG Energy Solution falling 1.86 percent and Samsung SDI losing 1.23 percent.

Financial firms led the decline as well, with KB Financial falling 2.03 percent and Shinhan Financial decreasing 1.43 percent.

Hyundai Motors gained 0.22 percent and Kia remained unchanged from the previous session.

The local currency was trading at 1,383.5 won against the greenback, up 10.6 won from the previous session's close.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG, YONHAP [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]