The South Korean stock market got off to a weak start Tuesday, despite overnight Wall Street gains led by big tech companies.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 2.62 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,616.38 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Overnight, Wall Street closed higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting its highest closing level in 2023, as the market anticipated more upbeat second-quarter earnings results following strong performances from some major banks.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sent a positive signal to the market, saying she sees the U.S. on a "good path" to tamp down inflation without tipping the economy into a recession.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.22 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.93 percent. The SandP 500 rose 0.39 percent.
There are, however, lingering concerns that the U.S. central bank could raise policy rates at least two more times this year.
In Seoul, big-cap shares opened mixed.
Market behemoth Samsung Electronics shed 0.55 percent, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix added 0.68 percent. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor lost 0.25 percent, and its sister company Kia went down 0.58 percent.
Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution lost 0.19 percent, and Samsung Biologics shed 0.27 percent.
Major chemical company LG Chem advanced 0.45 percent, and steel giant POSCO Holdings gained 0.52 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,265.8 won against the U.S. dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 0.8 won from the previous session's close.
Source: Yonhap News Agency