Seoul shares fall on weakened confidence

SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Tuesday as a global financial market panic continued to drag investor sentiment here, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) tumbled 26.06 points, or
1.92 percent, to 1,332.69 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Large caps lost ground across the board, with heavy machinery and construction
stocks losing the most. Doosan Heavy Industries fell nearly 6 percent and Daewoo
Engineering & Construction shed 2.45 percent.
Tech exporters also lost ground. Samsung Electronics lost 1.74 percent and its
home appliance rival LG Electronics tumbled more than 2 percent.
U.S. stocks suffered steep losses Monday on fears the global economy was hurtling
into recession despite efforts to contain the fast-spreading financial crisis.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 3.58 percent and the tech-dominated Nasdaq
composite index lost 4.34 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,330.5 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m.,
tumbling 61.5 won from Monday's close.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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