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Seoul shares open lower on profit-taking

July 12, 2013 - 09:37 By 윤민식
South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Friday, as investors opted to sell off shares on profit-taking following the 3 percent rally in the previous session, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 5.59 points, or 0.3 percent to 1,872.01 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Top-listed blue-chips led the fall. Tech giant Samsung Electronics inched down 0.08 percent, with leading carmaker Hyundai Motor tumbling more than 3 percent.

In contrast, steelmaker POSCO rose 0.7 percent and Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's biggest shipyard, gained 2 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,123.50 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 1.4 won from Thursday's close. (Yonhap News)