SEOUL: South Korean stocks turned lower soon after starting a tad higher on Monday, overshadowed by the yuan shock from China that haunted the market last week, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slipped 2.27 points, or 0.11 percent to 1,981.19 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Large caps drove down the shares, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics losing 0.5 percent and cosmetics maker Amore Pacific falling more than 2 percent.
In contrast, autos gathered ground. Hyundai Motor rose 0.4 percent and its smaller affiliate, Kia Motors, added 1.4 percent.
The KOSPI ended last week at a near six-month low as the consecutive devaluations of the Chinese yuan by Beijing from Aug. 11-13 jolted the market.
The local currency was trading at 1,181.40 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 7.4 won from Thursday’s close.
