SEOUL: South Korean stocks got off to a weak start on Monday, taking a cue from losses on Wall Street late last week, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 7.48 points, or 0.35 percent, to 2,136.02 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Large caps opened lower across the board, with tech, auto, construction and brokerage shares losing ground.
Samsung Electronics traded 0.97 percent lower, while Hyundai Construction & Engineering fell 1.05 percent.
Chemicals started in positive terrain, with market leader LG Chem trading nearly 4 percent higher.
On Friday, Wall Street closed sharply lower following disappointing earnings results and worries that the talks among European countries on how to help Greece could face a bumpy road.
The local currency was changing hands at 1,081.95 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 1.75 won from Friday’s close.
