South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday, tracking an overnight tumble on Wall Street amid concerns of a global resurgence in COVID-19 cases.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 7 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,336.91 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 650.19 points, or 2.29 percent, to close at 27,685.38 on Monday (US time).

The sharp drop came after countries saw a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases over the past few days, with France, Italy and Spain taking stronger virus curb measures.

Local investors remained guarded despite new central bank data showing that South Korea's economy grew 1.9 percent in the third quarter on-quarter, marking the first quarterly expansion since the pandemic's outbreak.

In Seoul, large caps were mixed, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics shedding 0.99 percent and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix down 0.6 percent.

Pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics rose 0.48 percent, while rival Celltrion remained unchanged.

Leading automaker Hyundai Motor added 1.75 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors jumped 6.36 percent.

Top portal operator Naver added 1.07 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,129.7 won against the US dollar, down 2 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)