Seoul stocks start lower tracking Wall Street

South Korean shares opened weak Monday, taking their cue from the decline in Wall Street last Friday.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slipped 8.17 points, or 0.38 percent, to 2,156.41 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Most large caps traded mixed, with market kingpin Samsung Electronics falling 0.9 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 1.32 percent, and No. 1 steelmaker POSCO gained 2.06 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,128.65 won against the US dollar, up 2.95 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)