Seoul shares open lower on U.S. job woes

SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks got off to a weak start on Monday as grim U.S. unemployment reports prompted investors to dump big-cap exporters, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) sank 2.58 percent, or 48.24 points, to 1,819.51 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
U.S. stock markets tumbled on Friday after data showed that the world's largest economy added no new jobs in the month of August, renewing fears of another economic recession.
Shares lost ground across the board with tech and auto exporters leading the fall. Samsung Electronics fell around 3 percent and Hyundai Motor dropped more than 2 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,068.85 won to the greenback as of 9:15 a.m., down 5.85 won from Friday's close.