South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as investor sentiment remained depressed owing to Wall Street losses.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 7.12 points, or 0.45 percent, to 1,572.60 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Tech blue chips started weaker with tech giant Samsung Electronics falling 0.16 percent. Top lender Kookmin Bank declined 3.65 percent.
U.S. stocks closed lower Monday on renewed worries over the financial sector. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 0.5 percent and the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index fell 0.09 percent.
The tech-savvy Kosdaq market bounced back in eight trading days. The Kosdaq index gained 0.20 percent to 535.22 as of 10 a.m.
The Korean currency was trading at 1,038.90 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 4 won from Monday's close after the Finance Ministry and the central bank pledged to take strong measures if currency volatility is deemed excessive.