South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, as the Federal Reserve's minutes reaffirmed the central bank's push for continued monetary tightening to curb inflation.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 29.08 points, or 1.15 percent, to 2,496.55 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, US stocks fell after the minutes from the Fed's July meeting showed that officials still saw a possible resurgence of inflation and the potential need for further rate hikes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.52 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.15 percent.

Investors are also wary of China's real estate sector following the debt problems of its property giant Country Garden.

In Seoul, top-cap shares opened lower.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics sank 1.19 percent, and leading battery maker LG Energy Solution remained unchanged.

Chip giant SK hynix lost 1.9 percent, and Samsung SDI inched down 0.17 percent. LG Chem retreated 2.05 percent.

Posco Holdings fell 1.28 percent, and major bio firm Samsung Biologics decreased 0.38 percent.

Carmakers also fell, with top automaker Hyundai Motor dropping 1.35 percent and Kia going down 0.9 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,342.10 won against the US dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 5.2 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)