Seoul shares open lower on profit taking, mixed US results
South Korean stocks opened slightly lower Thursday following mixed overnight results on Wall Street and profit taking following the recent market rally.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 14.37 points, or 0.46 percent, to 3,093.88 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Overnight, Wall Street ended mixed with no significant new catalysts following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran. The Dow Jones Industrial Average went down 0.25 percent, and the S&P 500 closed flat while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite went up 0.31 percent.
In Seoul, most blue chips lost ground, with market heavyweight Samsung Electronics down 0.98 percent and top automaker Hyundai Motor falling 1.84 percent.
Top shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries lost 0.92 percent, and top internet portal operator Naver plunged 5.11 percent.
Leading steelmaker POSCO Holdings and top refiner SK Innovation lost 0.19 percent and 1.09 percent, respectively.
In contrast, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix surged 4.02 percent, and top defense systems manufacturer Hanwha Aerospace gained 1.52 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,355.7 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., up 6.7 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)
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