Seoul shares trade lower on foreign selling

SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded lower late Wednesday
morning as foreign investors unloaded local stocks following overnight falls in
U.S. markets, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 7.3 points, or
0.61 percent, to 1,188.8 as of 11:20 a.m.
"Volatility in the Seoul bourse is still high. Despite Wall Street losses, the
South Korean market is posting smaller falls compared with other Asian markets
because of Tuesday's sharp decline in the KOSPI," said Park Suk-hyun, an analyst
at Eugene Investment & Securities Co.
Park said although investors welcomed the government's recently-announced
sweeping measures to calm the financial markets and boost the construction
sector, it seems there are some doubts over whether the moves are strong enough
to completely restore confidence and bring about the intended effects.
Foreign investors were dumping a net 167 billion won (US$124.9 million) worth of
local stocks on the Seoul bourse as of 11:20 a.m.
The government said Tuesday that it will spend around 5 trillion won to buy land
and unsold houses from builders in a bid to boost the nation's sluggish
construction sector and revive the broader economy.
U.S. stocks declined Tuesday as weaker earnings reports by tech firms fanned
fears of an economic downturn. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 2.5 percent
and the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index declined 4.14 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,361.5 won to the U.S. dollar as of 11:20
a.m., down 41.4 won from Tuesday's close, as foreign investors cut their holdings
of local stocks, dealers said.