Kospi opens lower as investors remain concerned over rates

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,758.42 points on Friday, up 0.13 percent, or 3.53 points, from the previous trading session. [NEWS1]

Shares opened lower Monday, after a mixed close on Wall Street, as investors remain concerned over a possible delay in long-awaited interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The Kospi fell 6.15 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,752.27 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2 percent to 38,589.16 and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.1 percent to 17,688.88.

The Fed has recently pared back projections for rate cuts this year and other central banks in Britain and Europe may follow suit depending on the results of inflation readings this week.

In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed.

Samsung Electronics fell 0.9 percent, LG Energy Solution declined 2 percent, Posco Holdings shed 1.7 percent and Korean Air was down 0.9 percent.

Among gainers, Hyundai Motor rose 4.7 percent, its affiliate Kia climbed 2.2 percent and state-run Korea Gas gained 3 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,382.35 won against the dollar, up 3.05 won from the previous session's close.

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