Seoul shares open nearly flat on profit taking

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Friday after hitting a nearly two-year high the previous session despite overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index edged down 2.76 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,752.1 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Thursday, the main index rallied by more than 2 percent amid growing hopes for U.S. rate cuts in the near future. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.68 percent to a new high, while the S and P 500 and Nasdaq also advanced to set a new record by increasing 0.32 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively. In Seoul, tech giant Samsung Electronics fell 0.76 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix lost 0.88 percent. Naver, which operates the country's top search engine, gained 2.06 percent, and its rival Kakao added 0.75 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,330.8 won against the U.S. dollar, down 8.4 won from the previous session's close. Source: Yonhap News Agency