Seoul shares opened sharply lower Monday after hawkish comments from the US Federal Reserve chief last week raised the possibility of an imminent rate hike. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index, a broad measure of South Korean equities, reduced its early decline to 163.60 points, or 2.41%, at 6,625.28 as of 9:15 a.m. The move followed losses on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.02% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.52% on Friday. Hawkish policy signals generally increase expectations for higher borrowing costs, putting pressure on equities.