Kospi opens lower as investors remain watchful ahead of U.S. election

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Kospi opens lower as investors remain watchful ahead of U.S. election

Published: 05 Nov. 2024, 10:28

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi opening on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Shares kicked off lower Tuesday as investors were cautious ahead of the U.S. presidential election.

The Kospi fell 18.47 points, or 0.71 percent, to 2,570.5 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, Wall Street closed lower as investors treaded water ahead of the U.S. presidential election Tuesday, where former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are neck and neck in the polls.

Investors' eyes are also on the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting that opens Wednesday, where the Federal Reserve will decide whether to issue another rate cut.

In Seoul, most big-cap shares started in negative territory.

Samsung Electronics slid 2.39 percent, while SK hynix jumped 2.06 percent.

LG Energy Solution lost 1.41 percent, and Samsung SDI plunged 4.3 percent.

Hyundai Motor dropped 1.62 percent, with Kia down 0.72 percent.

NCsoft also lost more than 3 percent following a disappointing earnings release the previous day.

Among the few gainers, Samsung Biologics increased 0.2 percent, and Korea Zinc soared 7 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,374.4 won against the U.S. dollar, up 3.5 won from the previous session.

Yonhap