Seoul shares open lower on Wall Street losses

SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks started weaker Monday as investor
sentiment was dented by falls in U.S. markets, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 15.44 points, or
0.94 percent, to 1,624.92 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
U.S. markets closed lower Friday on disappointing corporate earnings results by
Bank of America Corp. and General Electric Co. The Dow Jones industrial average
shed 0.67 percent and the tech-laden Nasdaq composite index declined 0.76
percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,177.1 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m.,
down 12.6 won from Friday's close.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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