Seoul shares opened lower Friday, after a mixed close on Wall Street, as investors offloaded tech and other large-cap stocks on profit taking following a three-session winning streak.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 19.81 points, or 0.71 percent, to 2,787.82 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8 percent to 39,134.76 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8 percent to 17,721.59.

In Seoul, tech stocks were lead decliners.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. fell 1.4 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. declined 2.3 percent, top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. shed 1.6 percent, and leading refiner SK Innovation Co. was down 2.7 percent.

Among gainers, national flag carrier Korean Air Co. rose 0.2 percent, leading wireless services provider SK Telecom Co. climbed 0.4 percent, and leading tourism agency Hana Tour Service Inc. was up 3.1 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,392.00 won against the US dollar, down 7.3 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)