South Korean stocks began lower Monday as lingering policy woes from a possible end of the U.S. monetary easing dampened investor sentiment, analyst said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 8.32 points, or 0.46 percent to 1,814.51 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Domestic-driven shares lost ground, with top mobile carrier SK Telecom slumping more than 3 percent and state-run gas provider Korea Gas dipping nearly 3.5 percent.
Top-cap Samsung Electronics bucked up gains, climbing 0.8 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,155.50 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 0.8 won from Friday's close. (Yonhap News)
