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

Seoul shares opened lower Friday, tracking losses on Wall Street, as investors remained cautious over a widening trade war by the US government.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 42.34 points, or 1.62 percent, to 2,564.81 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.37 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite declined 0.53 percent.

US President Donald Trump is set to impose 25 percent tariffs on all imported vehicles from April 2, a move expected to deal a blow to the Korean automotive industry.

In Seoul, most large-cap stocks declined.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 2.75 percent, top carmaker Hyundai Motor declined 3.06 percent, and leading steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 1.5 percent

National flag carrier Korean Air dropped 0.9 percent, and Lotte Chemical plunged 5.29 percent.

Among gainers, leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries rose 0.36 percent and leading cosmetics firm Amorepacific climbed 1.26 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,467.35 won against the US dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 2.05 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)