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

Seoul shares opened lower Monday, bucking gains on Wall Street, as investors moved to lock in profits from recent gains.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 8.4 points, or 0.32 percent, to 2,634.73 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

On Friday, US stocks closed higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.08 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite gaining 0.52 percent.

The KOSPI had risen for five consecutive sessions through Friday, aided by gains in big techs.

Tech stocks were lead decliners.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 1.3 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix dropped 1.86 percent.

Leading steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 4.14 percent, and national flag carrier Korean Air was down 0.22 percent.

Among gainers, top carmaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.24 percent, and leading battery maker LG Energy Solution advanced 1.52 percent.

Leading refiner SK Innovation rose 1.13 percent, and Hanwha Aerospace, a defense industry affiliate of Hanwha Group, jumped 4.14 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,462.75 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., down 0.05 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)