Seoul shares down 3.86 pct on U.S. losses

SEOUL, Nov. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened 3.86 percent lower Thursday, weighed down by massive Wall Street losses in the previous session, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) tumbled 39.63 points to
977.19 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
U.S. stocks hit their lowest since 2003 on Wednesday amid a dour economic outlook
from the Federal Reserve and worries over the fate of the nation's top-three
automakers. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 5.07 percent and the
tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index plummeted 6.53 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,480.5 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m.,
down 34 won from Wednesday's close.