Seoul shares open lower on Wall Street losses

SEOUL, Dec. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks started lower Tuesday as investor sentiment was dented by overnight falls in U.S. markets, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 10.81 points, or
0.92 percent, to 1,168.8 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
U.S. stocks closed lower Monday as investor sentiment was hurt by the news that
Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. cut its earnings outlook and is expecting
to post an operating loss for the 2008 fiscal year. The Dow Jones industrial
average shed 0.69 percent and the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index fell 2.04
percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,316.05 to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m.,
down 7.05 won from Monday's close.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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