Seoul shares open lower on North Korean woes

South Korean shares opened lower Thursday as investors' sentiment was dented by concerns over North Korea's nuclear test.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 2.9 points, or 0.15 percent, to 1,922.53 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Tech shares traded lower, with Samsung Electronics falling 0.6 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix losing 0.65 percent. LG Display shed 0.43 percent.

North Korea announced Wednesday it had succeeded in conducting a hydrogen bomb test, hours after what seems to be an artificial earthquake was detected close to the North's nuclear test site.

On Wednesday, South Korean stocks declined 0.26 percent, and the local currency sank to a four-month low against the greenback.

The local currency was trading at 1,199.40 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 1.5 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)