Seoul shares open lower following Fed meeting

SEOUL (Yonhap) - South Korean stocks got off to a weak start on Thursday, after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said weak economic growth in the United States may persist, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slipped 12.11 points, or 0.59 percent, to 2,051.79 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Blue chips broadly fell, with autos leading the decline. Top automaker Hyundai Motor lost around 2 percent.
Takeover moves, however, limited the losses. Top logistics firm Korea Express, which is scheduled to find a prime bidder next week, surged more than 9 percent. Hynix Semiconductor, the world's No. 2 chipmaker, also added nearly 1 percent ahead of an upcoming sale.
U.S. stocks also fell on a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Bernanke said factors that are weighing on U.S. growth may linger and implied another round of quantitative easing is unlikely for the time being.
The local currency was trading at 1,076.95 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 3.05 won from Wednesday's close.