Seoul shares open lower on Wall street falls

By Lee Youkyung
SEOUL, Aug. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korean shares started lower Wednesday as
investors dumped financials following overnight Wall Street falls, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 11.72 points, or
0.74 percent, to 1,567.49 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Financial shares got off to a weak start with KB Financial Group, which controls
top lender Kookmin Bank, losing more than 3 percent.
U.S. stocks dipped Tuesday as jitters over recent surges dampened investor
sentiment, with the Dow Jones Industrial average falling 1.03 percent and the
Nasdaq composite index dropping 1.13 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,246.65 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15
a.m., down 7.55 won from Tuesday's close.
ylee@yna.co.kr
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