[
THE INVESTOR] South Korean stocks opened lower on Aug. 3 on plummeting crude oil prices.
The benchmark KOSPI dropped 20.17 points, or 1.0 percent, to 1,998.86 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Most shares across the board were trading bearish.
Top market cap
Samsung Electronics fell 0.68 percent, and
SK Innovation, the nation’s largest refiner, dropped 2.05 percent.
Auto shares dipped as a stronger local currency fueled concerns over its competitiveness in the overseas market.
Leading automaker
Hyundai Motor declined 1.87 percent, and its sister company
Kia Motors decreased 1.68 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,113.70 won against the US dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 3.70 won from the previous close.
(
theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)
