South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, driven by losses in large cap financial and chemical shares.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 5.23 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,540.21 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Leading life insurer Samsung Life Insurance plunged 1.12 percent, and LG Chem, a major chemicals company, declined 0.86 percent.
No. 1 steelmaker POSCO also dropped 1.23 percent.
Market kingpin Samsung Electronics, meanwhile, advanced 0.04 percent, and SK hynix, a global chipmaker, jumped 1.7 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,115.10 won against the US dollar, down 3.2 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)
