[THE INVESTOR] South Korean shares opened lower on Oct. 11 on announcement by Samsung Electronics that it will halt global sales of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone.

The benchmark KOSPI slipped 0.81 point, or 0.04 percent, to 2,056.01 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Most large caps were in positive terrain with leading automaker Hyundai Motor advancing 1.50 percent and top portal operator Naver 1.61 percent.

Samsung Electronics, on the other hand, plunged 3.99 percent, retreating for a second consecutive day after reaching a record high of 1,706,000 won on Oct. 7.

The local currency was trading at 1,112.45 won against the US dollar, down 4.05 won from the previous session’s close.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)