Seoul stocks open lower on U.S. tumbles

SEOUL, March 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Friday as
investors were spooked by hefty overnight U.S. losses, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 15.79 points, or
1.49 percent, to 1,042.39 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Wall Street took a dive on Thursday on renewed fears over manjor banks and
General Motors Corp.'s potential bankruptcy. The Dow Jones industrial average
plunged 4.1 percent to a new 12-year low of 6,594 with the tech-heavy Nasdaq
sliding 4 percent to 1,299.59.
The local currency was trading at 1,585 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m.,
down 17 won from Thursday's close.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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