South Korean stocks opened lower Monday, tracking losses on Wall Street on Friday after a hot U.S. jobs report fueled expectations of further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
Major heavyweight stocks led the decline in early trading, with Samsung Electronics (KRX:005930) declining over 9% and SK Hynix (KRX:000660) falling over 8%.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, fell 1.4%, or 112.5 points, to open at 8,048.09. The Kosdaq shed 4.4%, or 42.83 points, to open at 959.61.