Seoul: South Korean stocks opened a tad lower Friday, hovering just below the historic 8,000-point landmark, despite overnight gains on Wall Street boosted by a rally of artificial intelligence (AI)-related shares and a positive evaluation of the U.S.-China summit.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 29.66 points, or 0.37 percent, to 7,951.75 at the opening bell, an inch away from the unprecedented 8,000-point level. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.75 percent higher, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 0.88 percent, and the S and P 500 went up 0.77 percent.

"Major U.S. indexes gained ground with the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping broadly meeting market expectations," said Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities. In their high-stakes meeting in Beijing on Thursday, the leaders of the world's two largest economies agreed that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and the crucial Strait of Hormuz must remain open, according to a White House official.

On expectations for closer cooperation between Washington and Beijing, major AI-related shares gained ground on Wall Street, with Nvidia jumping 4.39 percent, Broadcom rising 5.52 percent, and TSMC adding 4.48 percent.