Seoul stocks open sharply lower on U.S. losses

SEOUL, June 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks started sharply lower Tuesday as
overnight Wall Street tumbles prompted investor fears, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 27.81 points, or
1.99 percent, to 1,371.90 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
U.S. shares plunged on Monday after the World Bank downgraded its global economic
growth forecast to a contraction of 2.9 percent for this year from a fall of 1.7
percent. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 2.35 percent with the tech-heavy
Nasdaq falling 3.35 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,282.9 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m.,
down 8.4 won from Monday's close.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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