Seoul shares open lower on Wall Street losses

SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Tuesday as
investor sentiment was dented by overnight falls in U.S. markets, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 16.78 points, or
1.45 percent, to 1,139.97 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
U.S. stocks closed lower Monday on concerns over gloomy outlooks for corporate
earnings reports. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.46 percent and the
tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index declined 2.09 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,374.15 to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m.,
down 15.15 won from Monday's close.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)