S. Korean stocks open lower on U.S. losses

SEOUL, June 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index was down 6.31 points, or 0.29 percent, to 2,102.62 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Most large caps traded mixed.

Market kingpin Samsung Electronics moved down 1.57 percent, and global chipmaker SK hynix lost 2.74 percent.

In contrast, pharmaceutical giant Celltrion gained 0.49 percent, and chemical maker LG Chem was up 1.93 percent.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks closed lower led by losses in tech and financial shares, with the Dow Jones industrial average moving down 0.17 percent.

The South Korean currency was trading at 1,183.9 won against the U.S. dollar, down 1.3 won from the previous session's close

khj@yna.co.kr
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