Kospi drops nearly 1% after mixed results on Wall Street

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

Stocks opened weaker Thursday as investors sought profits following the previous session's sharp rise amid mixed overnight results on Wall Street.

The Kospi fell 26.04 points, or 0.97 percent, to 2,649.71 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

On Wednesday, the main index spiked nearly 2 percent, backed by chipmakers and batterymakers.

Overnight, Wall Street closed mixed as a disappointing earnings report from Meta Platforms put investors on edge ahead of other big tech earnings reports scheduled to be announced this week. The S&P 500 rose 0.02 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.1 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.11 percent.

In Seoul, most blue chips lost ground. Samsung Electronics dropped 1.78 percent, and SK hynix fell 2.45 percent.

Battery and steel shares also retreated. LG Energy Solution slid 1.3 percent, and Posco Holdings dropped 0.88 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,375.75 won against the greenback, up 6.55 won from the previous session's close.

BY CHOI HAE-JIN, YONHAP [choi.haejin@joongang.co.kr]