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Seoul shares open lower on profit taking after record high
SEOUL, Jan. 6 (Yonhap) -- Seoul shares opened lower Tuesday as investors cashed in recent gains propelled by a rally in tech stocks.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 39.96 points, or 0.9 percent, to 4,417.56 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
The main index bucked overnight gains on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.23 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite climbed 0.69 percent.
Foreign investors turned net sellers after purchasing more than 2.8 trillion won (US$1.9 billion) worth of shares over the past two sessions.
A day earlier, the KOSPI jumped 3.43 percent to close at a record high of 4,457.52, breaking the 4,400-point mark for the first time.
Technology stocks led the decline, while auto shares jumped.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 2.97 percent, while chip giant SK hynix declined 2.87 percent.
Top carrier Korean Air slipped 0.44 percent, and shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean shed 0.76 percent.
Among gainers, top carmaker Hyundai Motor advanced 7.22 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia climbed 1.71 percent.
Leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai rose 0.63 percent, and leading steelmaker POSCO Holdings gained 0.17 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,447 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., down 3.2 won from the previous session.
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