Seoul stocks open lower on profit-taking

SEOUL, March 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday despite
overnight Wall Street gains, as investors locked in profits from recent rallies,
analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 5.09 points, or 0.41
percent, to 1,223.93 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The weak start comes
after four consecutive days of advances.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks closed higher on better-than-expected data for housing
and durable goods sales. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 1.17 percent and
the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.92 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,353.5 to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up
9.5 won from Wednesday's close.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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