Seoul: Seoul stocks opened lower Friday, defying overnight gains on Wall Street, as investors remained cautious ahead of the anticipated Jackson Hole meeting, expected to provide insights into the Federal Reserve's rate policy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) saw a decline of 65.83 points, or 0.95 percent, positioning it at 6,846.54 as of 9:15 a.m.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the U.S. market experienced a positive performance, with major stock indexes closing higher. The S and P 500 increased by 0.72 percent, while the Nasdaq showed a more significant rise of 1.57 percent. The U.S. rally was primarily driven by technology companies associated with artificial intelligence, notably Nvidia, which saw a substantial gain following its impressive earnings report.

As investors await Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's inaugural major speech as chairman at the Jackson Hole symposium, market observers are eager to glean any potential indicators regarding the Federal Reserve's future rate decisions. Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, noted, "Market watchers are closely following whether the KOSPI could land above 7,000 points, but fortunately, there is a lot of upward momentum in terms of valuation piling up."

In the Seoul market, the majority of large-cap shares were trending downward. Leading the decline was market bellwether Samsung Electronics, which dropped 1.5 percent, while its competitor SK hynix fell by 1.79 percent. Samsung Biologics also experienced a significant dip of 5.9 percent following its announcement of a rights offering to raise additional capital.

Meanwhile, other notable companies such as Hanwha Aerospace and KB Financial experienced decreases of 1.48 percent and 0.89 percent, respectively. However, shipper HD Hyundai Heavy Industries reported a slight gain of 0.96 percent. The Korean won was quoted at 1,380.7 against the U.S. dollar, marking an increase of 0.8 won from the previous session's close.