Seoul shares open 5.1 pct lower on U.S. falls

SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks started 5.13 percent lower Thursday as investors were jittery over overnight plunges on Wall Street, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 57.71 points to
1,066.15 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Steep losses caused the Korea Exchange (KRX), the bourse operator, to suspend
program trading early on for five minutes after the main index futures prices
fell more than 5 percent. It was the twentieth such emergency break this year.
U.S. stocks nosedived Wednesday as dismal corporate earnings chilled investor
sentiment. The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 4.73 percent and the
tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index plunged 5.17 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,391.95 won to the U.S. dollar as of 10:15
a.m., down 32.45 won from Wednesday's close.
The Seoul bourse started trading an hour later than usual at 10 a.m. on Thursday
and will close at 4 p.m. due to a nation-wide college scholastic aptitude test.
The foreign exchange market will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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