Seoul shares open lower on U.S. falls

SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Friday as
investor sentiment was hurt by overnight Wall Street falls stemming from
continuing economic woes, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 10.73 points, or
0.97 percent, to 1,096.37 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
U.S. stocks tumbled Thursday with the Dow Jones industrial average falling 1.19
percent to the lowest level in more than six years and the tech-dominated Nasdaq
composite index declining 1.71 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,480.7 to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up
0.3 won from Thursday's close.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
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