South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday on renewed fears over the US banking crisis following the auction of a US regional bank ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting this week.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slid 13.66 points, or 0.54 percent, to 2,510.73 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Wall Street ended the session down overnight as uncertainties arose over the financial system following the sale of the First Republic Bank to JPMorgan Chase & Co., led by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Investors kept a wary eye as they awaited the signals from the Fed for when it will end its aggressive rate hike cycle after a widely expected 25 basis point hike at the end of the policy meeting Wednesday.

In Seoul, most large-cap stocks fell across the board.

Tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics lost 0.9 percent. Top battery maker LG Energy Solution dipped around 1.9 percent, with its rival Samsung SDI sinking more than 2 percent.

Chip giant SK hynix was down 1.2 percent.

Entertainment agency Hybe jumped more than 6 percent after reporting record-high profit for the first quarter the previous day.

Leading life insurer Samsung Life Insurance inched up 0.3 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,341.30 won against the US dollar at around 9:15 a.m., up 0.8 won from Tuesday's close. (Yonhap)