South Korean stocks got off to a weak start on Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 6.82 points, or 0.34 percent, to 2,017.82 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Large caps mostly retreated, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics slipping 0.19 percent and the country's top steelmaker POSCO slumping 1.35 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,081.85 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 3.35 won from Wednesday's close. (Yonhap News)