Seoul Shares Open Lower on Institutional Selling

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday as institutions dumped steel, tech and other large caps.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slumped 10.74 points, or 1 percent, to 1,065.33 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The index was quoted at 1.065.91 as of 10 a.m.

Blue chips fell across the board, with steel, tech and finance shares leading the overall decline. Construction issues, however, gained substantially.

However, the tech-loaded Kosdaq market gained 1.09 percent to 310.84 as of 10 a.m. thanks to individual buying.

The local currency was trading at 1,475.95 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 6.95 won from Friday's close.