SEOUL: South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday, led by losses in major exporters.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 5.15 points, or 0.27 percent, to 1,936.34 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Automakers traded bearish. Industry leader Hyundai Motor retreated 2.01 percent and its sister company, Kia Motors, shed 1.64 percent.
Refiners were up after a surge in oil prices on Monday as a downward revision of U.S. crude production data and the willingness of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to talk with other producers helped extend the recent gains.
Top refiner SK Innovation gained 2.6 percent and No. 3 S-Oil rose 3 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,192.5 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., unchanged from Monday’s close.
