Seoul shares open lower on blue-chip losses

South Korean stocks opened lower on Tuesday due mainly to losses in large-cap shares of techs and builders, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.09 points, or 0.21 percent, to 1922.22 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Tech blue chips led the decline, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 0.73 percent and its smaller local rival LG Electronics losing 0.22 percent. Samsung Techwin, a defense machinery firm, shed 0.15 percent.

Builders also traded lower, with Hyundai Engineering & Construction moving down 0.85 percent and Hyundai Development decreasing 0.66 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO shed 0.94 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,118.00 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 1.00 won from Monday's close. (Yonhap News)