South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting as investors seek a clue from the timeline for the interest rate hike.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) retreated 11.17 points, or 0.37 percent, to 3,002.32 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The Fed is set to reveal its meeting results Wednesday (New York time).

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 0.28 percent to 71,300 won, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix advanced 0.47 percent to 108,000 won.

Leading car battery firm LG Chem dipped 4.45 percent to 794,000 won, and pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics declined 0.92 percent to 866,000 won. Hyundai Motor, the country's largest carmaker, climbed 0.24 percent at 210,500 won.

Kakao Pay, the mobile payment service arm of Kakao Corp., South Korea's top messenger app, jumped 3.61 percent to 186,500 won on its stock market debut.

The local currency was trading at 1,180.5 won against the US dollar, down 6.1 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)