Seoul shares open lower on Cyprus woes

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Thursday as worries grew over a possible spillover effect of the Cyprus bailout that may hurt the troubled eurozone, analysts said. 

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slipped

1.55 points, or 0.08 percent, to 1,991.89 in the first 15 minutes of trading. 

Blue-chip exporters and financial companies drove down the shares, with tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics falling 0.3 percent and No. 1 lender by assets Woori Finance Holdings losing nearly 1 percent. 

The local currency was trading at 1,108.75 won against the U.S.

dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 2.75 won from Wednesday's close. (Yonhap News)