Seoul shares open 0.96 pct lower on U.S. falls

SEOUL, Nov. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened 0.96 percent lower Tuesday, taking a cue from overnight Wall Street losses triggered by Citigroup's plan to lay off jobs worldwide, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 10.4 points to
1,067.92 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
U.S. stocks fell again Monday after Citigroup said it would cut another 53,000
jobs around the world to deal with the fallout from the financial crisis. The Dow
Jones industrial average slumped 2.63 percent and the tech-dominated Nasdaq
composite index slid 2.29 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,417.4 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m.,
down 8.4 won from Monday's close.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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