South Korean shares opened sharply lower Friday, taking a cue from an overnight plunge on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 39.52 points, or 1.65 percent, to 2,356.38 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

On Thursday (New York time), Wall Street was roiled by panic selling as investors dumped tech stocks.

The tech-laden Nasdaq 500 plummeted 598.34 points, or 4.96 percent, to 11,458.1, marking the steepest fall since June.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 2.78 percent, with the S&P 500 tumbling 3.51 percent.

In Seoul, most large caps traded lower.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 1.24 percent, with No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix down 1.65 percent.

Internet portal giant Naver retreated 2.95 percent, with its rival Kakao dipping 2.07 percent.

Leading chemical maker LG Chem retreated 2.47 percent, and rechargeable battery maker Samsung SDI dropped 2.54 percent.

Top pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics fell 1.54 percent, and Celltrion shed 1.87 percent.

Hyundai Motor, the country's largest automaker, lost 2.27 percent, and top steelmaker POSCO retreated 1.32 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,190.4 won against the US dollar, down 2.1 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)