Kospi opens lower on U.S. tech losses 

Stocks opened slightly lower Tuesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street as a decline in U.S. tech firms outweighed optimism over progress in peace talks between the United States and Iran.

After starting 0.34 percent lower, the Kospi went down 3.17 points, or 0.03 percent, to 9,111.38 as of 9:15 a.m.

Overnight, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said a "very good foundation" had been established for negotiations toward a final agreement with Iran, while mediators also reported progress in the talks.

However, U.S. stocks closed mixed, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq declining 1.3 percent amid concerns about major technology companies.

Investor sentiment was also weighed down by reports that Elon Musk's rocket company, SpaceX, is selling bonds as part of what is expected to be a major fundraising effort to support its artificial intelligence initiatives.

SpaceX plummeted 16.4 percent for its third straight decline after a record IPO last week.

In Seoul, major market heavyweights opened lower.

SK hynix lost 0.45 percent, while Samsung Electronics went down 0.99 percent.

Hyundai Motor retreated 3.1 percent and Samsung Electro-Mechanics fell 4.02 percent.

Yonhap