Seoul shares open lower on shipyard, tech losses

SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Thursday, dragged down by losses in shipyard, tech and other large-cap issues, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 17.52 points, or
1.17 percent, to 1,478.46 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Shipbuilders lost substantial ground, with industry leader Hyundai Heavy
Industries and smaller Samsung Heavy Industries both starting in negative
territory.
Tech exporters and carmakers added downward pressure to the market. Chipmaking
giant Samsung Electronics lost more than 1 percent and No. 1 automaker Hyundai
Motor also opened sharply lower than the previous day.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks closed mixed as investors remained concerned that a set
of bail-out plans announced by the government for its ailing financial system
could fail to succeed in stabilizing the overall market. The Dow Jones industrial
average fell 0.27 percent and the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index inched up
0.11 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,155.9 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m.,
down 1.4 won from Wednesday's close.
kokobj@yna.co.kr