South Korean stocks started sharply lower Thursday tracking overnight losses on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 40.73 points, or 1.65 percent, to 2,421.87 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Dragged down by mixed corporate earnings reports and escalating concerns over the Israel-Hamas conflict, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.98 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.62 percent.

In Seoul, most shares opened bearish across the board.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics sank 1.42 percent, and leading battery maker LG Energy and Solution, the second-biggest share in terms of market cap, lost 2.9 percent.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor retreated 1.15 percent, and its auto parts affiliate Hyundai Mobis went down 0.22 percent.

Leading online portal operator Naver dipped 1.72 percent, and its rival Kakao skidded 2.27 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,356.65 won against the US dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 7.05 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)