Seoul shares opened sharply lower Tuesday, as losses in US technology stocks weighed on investor sentiment ahead of major companies' earnings reports and the release of US inflation data.
After opening 3.1 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index extended losses, trading down 257.59 points, or 4.03 percent, to 6,126.65 as of 9:15 a.m.
Overnight, US stocks ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.38 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite falling 0.44 percent.
Investors are awaiting the US consumer price index report due Wednesday (US time), which could offer further clues about the Federal Reserve's policy outlook ahead of its October rate-setting meeting.
In Seoul, tech stocks led the decline.
Market behemoth Samsung Electronics fell 4.79 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix declined 5.61 percent.
Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace dropped 3.71 percent, and top carmaker Hyundai Motor shed 5 percent.
Among gainers, Hybe, the agency behind K-pop boy band BTS, rose 1.47 percent and rival entertainment agency SM climbed 1.8 percent.
The Korean won was trading at 1,335.70 won against the US dollar, up 0.1 won from the close of the previous stock trading session. (Yonhap)