An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)
An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 18.73 points, or 0.71 percent, to 2,626.54 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

In the United States, major indexes finished weaker, weighed down by losses from big tech companies, including Microsoft and Nvidia, amid escalating concerns about possible tariff impositions on Canadian and Mexican goods.

The S&P 500 lost 0.5 percent, and the Nasdaq sank 1.21 percent.

In Seoul, most shares started in negative territory.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 0.7 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix dropped 2.44 percent.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor declined 1.21 percent, while leading battery maker LG Energy Solution dipped 2.08 percent.

Naver, the largest online portal operator, went down 0.88 percent, and food giant Nongshim lost 0.71 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,427.05 won against the dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 0.25 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)