Seoul shares start lower on U.S. losses

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Thursday as investor sentiment was dampened by overnight losses on Wall Street, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 13.49 points, or 0.69 percent, to trade at 1934.73 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Shares lost ground across the board, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics falling 1.28 percent and chipmaker SK hynix losing 0.22 percent. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor shed 0.42 percent.

U.S. stocks ended lower on Wednesday due to lackluster third-quarter performances of large caps, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 0.95 percent and the NASDAQ composite index sliding 0.43 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,116.95 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 2.35 won from Wednesday's close. (Yonhap News)