South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, led by losses of big-cap tech shares amid concerns about US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff plan.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 6.21 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,532.84 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Companies are scurrying to minimize the impact of Trump's new tariff scheme on their businesses, as Washington plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States.
Trump is also reviewing tariffs on cars and semiconductors, which are major export items for South Korea.
US shares ended mixed Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.28 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 0.36 percent.
In Seoul, tech and pharmaceuticals lost ground.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics sank 1.97 percent, and chip giant SK hynix tumbled 1.75 percent.
Major bio firm Samsung Biologics went down 2.3 percent, and Celltrion lost 0.72 percent.
But leading battery maker LG Energy Solution added 0.44 percent.
Carmakers traded mixed. Top automaker Hyundai Motor inched up 0.1 percent, but its sister affiliate Kia dived 1.07 percent.
Top portal operator Naver decreased 1.09 percent, and No. 1 steelmaker POSCO Holdings dipped 1.7 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,453.40 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., down 0.8 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)
