Korean shares open lower on Wall Street losses

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Friday following overnight losses on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 7.42 points, or 0.37 percent, to 1,993.51 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Seoul share prices are displayed at the Korea Exchange. (Yonhap)

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.17 percent overnight as sentiment was down after Japan‘s unexpected decision to maintain its monetary stimulus measures. A major drag on the Dow Jones were tech stocks including Apple, which fell 3 percent after billionaire investor Carl Icahn said he has sold all his shares.

Korean large caps started lower, led by tech and telecom stocks. Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor were both trading lower in mid-morning.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)