Seoul shares edge down after strong start

SEOUL, Oct. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks started stronger Wednesday but soon
lost ground as institutional selling overshadowed revived hopes that U.S.
lawmakers will salvage a rejected bailout plan, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 3.78 points, or
0.26 percent, to 1,444.28 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Tech bellwether Samsung Electronics and top oil refiner SK Energy both lost
ground. But No.2 carmaker Kia Motors jumped 4.1 percent on reports that unionized
workers at the automaker have reached a wage deal with their management, ending
sporadic partial strikes.
U.S. stocks soared Tuesday on hopes that lawmakers will likely salvage a US$700
billion proposal to rescue the teetering financial system, which was unexpectedly
rejected on Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 4.68 percent and the
tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index jumped 4.97 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,194.2 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m.,
up 12.8 won from Tuesday's close. The won tumbled to a 64-month low versus the
greenback on Tuesday on the bailout rejection.