South Korean shares opened slightly lower Friday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 3.73 points, or 0.16 percent, to 2,392.75 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The KOSPI's decline is largely attributed to the US tech retreat and unimproved jobless benefits data from last week.

The tech-laden Nasdaq composite fell 221.97 points, or 1.99 percent, to 10,919.59 on Thursday (New York time). The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.45 percent, with the S&P 500 down 1.76 percent.

Most large caps traded lower in Seoul.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 0.34 percent, but No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gained 0.52 percent.

Leading chemical maker LG Chem retreated 1.68 percent, while top automaker Hyundai Motor climbed 0.3 percent.

Top pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics shed 0.79 percent, and Celltrion slid 0.34 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,187.95 won against the US dollar, down 3.05 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)