Seoul shares open lower on bleak U.S. job data

SEOUL, July 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks started sharply lower Friday as
investor sentiment was hurt by worse-than-expected U.S. job reports, analysts
said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 16.49 points, or
1.17 percent, to 1,394.99 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Wall Street tumbled Thursday as the U.S. jobless rate hit a 26-year high in June
and job losses accelerated more than expected. The Dow Jones industrial average
declined 2.63 percent and the tech-laden Nasdaq composite index declined 2.67
percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,278.35 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15
a.m., down 8.7 won from Thursday's close.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)