Seoul shares open lower on U.S. losses

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Friday following overnight losses on Wall Street as investors remained jittery over the global economic slowdown, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 0.90 points, or 0.05 percent, to trade at 1,932.19 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 0.38 percent, and top carmaker Hyundai Motor shed 0.21 percent.

U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 0.14 percent and the NASDAQ composite index sliding 0.08 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,112.00 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 2.3 won from Thursday's close. (Yonhap News)