Seoul shares open lower on foreign, institutional selling

SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks began lower Friday as foreigners and institutions took a breather following the previous session's surge, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slipped 11.84 points, or 0.67 percent, to 1,757.45 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
The KOSPI jumped 2.68 percent on Thursday, boosted by hopes the eurozone will soon act to tackle its debt crisis. On Thursday (local time), the German parliament voted for beefing up the 440 billion euro (US$600 billion) European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), raising hopes the move will boost the economic bloc's efforts to cope with its debts.
Big-cap shares were mixed. Techs were trading in negative territory, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics losing more than 2 percent.
In contrast, shipbuilders outperformed the market with industry leader Hyundai Heavy Industries jumping around 3 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,179.05 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 5.55 won from Thursday's close.
mil@yna.co.kr
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