Seoul stocks open tad lower on China's Evergrande risk

South Korean stocks opened slightly lower Friday amid concerns about a debt crisis of Evergrande Group, a leading Chinese property developer.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) slipped 3.11 points, or 0.1 percent, to 3,004.22 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Stocks got off to a weak start amid the uncertainties surrounding Evergrande, largely as the firm has to pay some $80 million worth of bond coupons by Saturday.

Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite added 0.62 percent to 15,215 points on hopes of strong corporate earnings, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.02 percent to 35,603 points.

In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics edged up 0.14 percent to 70,300 won, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gained 0.21 percent to 96,500 won.

Leading car battery firm LG Chem advanced 1.61 percent to 819,000 won, pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics added 0.46 percent to 872,000 won, and the country's largest carmaker Hyundai Motor traded flat at 207,500 won.

Among losers, internet portal operator Naver lost 1.58 percent to 404,000 won, and steelmaker Posco shed 1.29 percent to 307,000 won.

The local currency was trading at 1,178.75 won against the US dollar, down 1.55 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)