South Korean stocks started a tad lower Wednesday as investors await the latest US inflation data that would give clues for the Federal Reserve's upcoming rate-setting decision.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index opened slightly higher but lost 0.13 percent, or 3.33 points, to 2,520.1 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

On Wall Street, US stocks closed mixed amid rising slowdown concerns. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.2 percent, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.8 percent.

In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory and smartphone maker, fell 1.51 percent, and top carmaker Hyundai Motor dropped 2.16 percent.

But SK hynix, the world's second-largest memory chip maker, rose 0.39 percent, and LG Display, a supplier to Apple's iPhone, advanced 0.39 percent.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution increased 1.19 percent, and the state-run electricity giant KEPCO climbed 2.08 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,343.5 won against the US dollar, up 0.2 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)