Kospi treads water as investors await U.S. consumer price index

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,745.05 points on Wednesday, up 10.69 points, or 0.39 percent, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Shares opened nearly flat Thursday as investors sat on the sidelines ahead of the release of the U.S. consumer price index next week.

The Kospi edged down 1.9 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,743.15 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Investors remained cautious ahead of the release of the U.S. inflation data amid a mixed forecast over the future course of the Federal Reserve's key rates.

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins said during a lecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that reaching the target inflation of 2 percent may take longer than previously thought.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics remained unchanged from the previous session, while SK hynix gained 0.17 percent.

Financial firms kicked off mostly lower, with KB Financial falling 1.03 percent and Shinhan Financial losing 0.53 percent.

Hyundai Motor shed 0.41 percent, and Kia lost 0.69 percent. Hyundai Mobis moved down 1.08 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,366 won against dollar, up 4.5 won from the previous session's close.

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