An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday . (Yonhap)
South Korean shares opened lower Wednesday as investors sat on the sidelines after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the recent stock prices are “fairly highly valued.”
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 0.27 percent, or 9.28 points, to 3,476.91 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Overnight, the Fed chair said in a speech that equity prices may be overvalued, driving major U.S. firms, including Nvidia, to plummet.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 0.95 percent, and the S&P 500 shed 0.55 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.19 percent.
In Seoul, top tech giant Samsung Electronics shed 0.35 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix lost 0.28 percent. Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution decreased 0.84 percent, and Samsung SDI slipped 1.19 percent.
Shinhan Financial decreased 0.72 percent, and Samsung Life Insurance moved down 1.46 percent.
The local currency was quoted at 1,393.7 won against the greenback as of 9:15 a.m., down 1.1 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)