Seoul shares open lower ahead of Fed rate decision, earnings

Seoul shares opened lower Tuesday, following a mixed close on Wall Street, as investors await the Federal Reserve's rate decision and earnings from major tech firms. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 19.99 points, or 0.72 percent, to 2,745.54 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1 percent to 40,539.93 points, but the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.07 percent to 17,370.20. This week, all eyes are on the Fed's policy decision and earnings results of big tech firms, such as Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. The U.S. central bank is widely expected to cut rates within months. In Seoul, most large-cap stocks declined. Market behemoth Samsung Electronics Co. fell 0.9 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. declined 2.7 percent, top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. shed 0.6 percent, and leading auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis Co. was down 0.9 percent. Among gainers, leading shipping firm HMM rose 1.1 percent , leading battery maker LG Energy Solution Ltd. climbed 0.8 percent, and leading refiner SK Innovation Co. was up 1 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,384.40 won against the U.S. dollar, down 2.5 won from the previous session's close. Source: Yonhap News Agency