Seoul shares open lower on Wall Street losses

SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Monday as
investor sentiment was hurt by concerns of a global recession following falls in
U.S. markets, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 5.95 points, or 0.5
percent, to 1,175.01 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
U.S. stocks closed lower Friday on deteriorating job market data, deepening fears
over the nation's economic recession. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.64
percent and the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index shed 2.81 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,355.8 to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m.,
down 12.8 won from Friday's close.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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