Seoul shares fall on slowdown fears

SEOUL, Oct. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened more than 2.5 percent lower
Friday as concerns grew over global financial instability and a possible economic
slowdown, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 26.66 points, or
2.54 percent, to 1,023.05 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Earlier in the day, the Bank of Korea, the nation's central bank, announced that
South Korea's economy grew 0.6 percent on-quarter in the July-September period,
the slowest pace in 4 years. The report has stoked concerns that Asia's
fourth-largest economy might slip into an economic slowdown.
U.S. stocks ended mixed Thursday in volatile trading. The Dow Jones industrial
average jumped 2.02 percent and the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index
declined 0.73 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,397.25 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15
a.m., up 11.55 won from Thursday's close.