South Korean shares opened lower Friday as a resurgence of the new coronavirus could dampen hopes of a global economic recovery.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 0.3 point, or 0.01 percent, to 2,360.91 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Stocks traded bearish after the KOSPI lost for a third consecutive day the previous session.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average went down 0.07 percent, to close at 28,494.2 on Thursday (New York time), with the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 dipping 0.47 percent and 0.15 percent, respectively.

Samsung Electronics added 0.33 percent, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix traded flat.

Pharmaceutical firm Samsung BioLogics retreated 1.56 percent, and leading chemical maker LG Chem shed 0.63 percent.

The country's largest automaker, Hyundai Motor, dropped 1.14 percent, but internet portal giant Naver gained 0.85 percent.

Big Hit Entertainment, the management agency of K-pop phenoms BTS, tumbled 11.43 percent on the second day of trading.

The local currency was trading at 1,145.1 won against the US dollar, down 1.9 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)