Kospi opens lower as Fed looks to hold tight on rates

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,677.30 points on Wednesday, down 1.67 percent, or 45.55 points, from the previous trading session. [NEWS1]

Shares opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, as the Federal Reserve appears to be in no rush to cut interest rates in the face of the strong economy and high inflation.

The Kospi fell 15.47 points, or 0.58 percent, to 2,661.83 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.06 percent to 38,441.54 points, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite retreated 0.58 percent to 16,920.58.

The Fed's Beige Book survey showed the U.S. economy has expanded at a modest pace since April, lowering the chances for an early rate cut.

In Seoul, most large-cap stocks declined.

Samsung Electronics fell 0.4 percent, chipmaker SK hynix declined 1.3 percent, Hyundai Motor dropped 0.6 percent, LG Energy Solution shed 0.9 percent and Korean Air was down 0.7 percent.

Among gainers, HD Hyundai rose 0.7 percent, HMM climbed 0.3 percent and AmorePacific was up 3.4 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,374 won against the dollar, up 9 won from the previous session's close.

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