Seoul shares open lower on Wall Street losses

SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korean shares opened lower Wednesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would postpone talks for a new stimulus plan until after the upcoming U.S. elections.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 11.84 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,354.06 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The main index tracked overnight losses on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.3 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index dropped 1.6 percent.

Investor sentiment worsened after Trump said on Twitter on Tuesday (U.S. time) that he would put a hold on talks for a stimulus deal due to differences with the Democrats.

"I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election," Trump tweeted.

In Seoul, most large caps traded lower.

Market kingpin Samsung Electronics fell 0.51 percent, with No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix shedding 0.12 percent.

Leading chemical firm LG Chem declined 0.59 percent, and Hyundai Motor, the country's largest automaker, dropped 1.1 percent.

Pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics rose 0.84 percent, while Celltrion was down 0.58 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,165.10 won against the dollar, down 4.1 won from the previous session's close.

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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