Seoul shares open lower on US tech losses

The benchmark KOSPI is displayed at a dealing room in Hana Bank, Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

Korean stocks opened slightly lower Tuesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street as a decline in U.S. tech firms outweighed optimism over progress in peace talks between the United States and Iran.

After starting 0.34 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) went down 3.17 points, or 0.03 percent, to 9,111.38 as of 9:15 a.m.

Overnight, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said a "very good foundation" had been established for negotiations toward a final agreement with Iran, while mediators also reported progress in the talks.

However, U.S. stocks closed mixed, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq declining 1.3 percent amid concerns about major technology companies.

Investor sentiment was also weighed down by reports that Elon Musk's rocket company, SpaceX, is selling bonds as part of what is expected to be a major fundraising effort to support its artificial intelligence initiatives.

SpaceX plummeted 16.4 percent for its third straight decline after a record IPO last week.

In Seoul, major market heavyweights opened lower.

Market bellwether SK hynix lost 0.45 percent, while its chipmaking rival Samsung Electronics went down 0.99 percent.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor retreated 3.1 percent, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics, an electronic components manufacturing affiliate of Samsung Electronics, fell 4.02 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,540.4 won against the U.S. dollar, down 3.4 won from the previous session, as of 9:15 a.m.