Seoul shares open lower on recovery woes

SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened sharply lower on Thursday as investor sentiment was chilled by dimmer global economic outlooks and credit downgrades on U.S. big banks by Moody's Investors Service, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) tumbled 45.97 points, or 2.48 percent, to trade at 1,808.31 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
After a two-day policy meeting, the Fed said it will sell short-term Treasury bonds worth US$400 billion to purchase the same amount of longer-dated securities by the end of June next year. The move aims to drive down long-term borrowing costs without further bloating its balance sheet.
The Fed warned of "significant downside risks to the economic outlook, including strains in global financial markets."
Adding to concerns about the global recovery, Moody's lowered ratings for Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. on Wednesday.
U.S. markets closed sharply lower on the Fed's warning of the weakening economy. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 2.49 percent and the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index fell 2.01 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,174.95 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., sharply down 25.05 won from Wednesday's close.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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