Seoul stocks opened lower on Wednesday, driven by declines in U.S. artificial intelligence-related stocks.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was down 75.79 points, or 0.87 percent, to 8,650.81 as of 9:15 a.m.
Wall Street fell overnight, with a tech sell-off pushing the S&P 500 down 0.5 percent and the Nasdaq down 1.15 percent. Nvidia surprised investors with plans to issue $25 billion in bonds, its first bond sale in five years, sending its shares down 2.4 percent.
Investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy update due Wednesday afternoon. "Given that overall market conditions are neutral or better, the market is expected to rotate away from semiconductors to other sectors and narrow losses," said Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.
Samsung Electronics fell 2.41 percent, while SK hynix rose 0.76 percent. Hyundai Motor dipped 3.2 percent and KB Financial declined 1.63 percent, but Hanwha Aerospace gained 2.28 percent. The Korean won traded at 1,510.4 won per dollar, up 1.2 won from the previous session.
