SEOUL: South Korean stocks started a tad higher on Wednesday, although the International Monetary Fund confirmed that Greece failed to make its debt payment, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 1.27 points, or 0.06 percent to 2,075.47 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Market kingpin Samsung Electronics inched down 0.24 percent, and top automaker Hyundai Motor fell 1.1 percent.
Retailers were up on hope that an upcoming bid for duty-free shops in downtown Seoul may boost their sales.
Hotel Shilla, a hotel and duty-free shop operator, gained 4.48 percent, and retail giant Shinsegae advanced 2.8 percent.
The IMF said Greece missed a $1.8 billion debt payment on Tuesday (Greece time), becoming the first developed country to default on a loan to the international lending agency, fueling concerns of a Grexit.
The Korean won was trading at 1,118.9 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 3.4 won from Tuesday’s close.
