Seoul stocks down 1.62 pct in late morning

SEOUL, Jan. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded 1.62 percent lower late
Wednesday morning as global banking concerns weighed down on local financial
shares, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 18.27 points to
1,108.54 as of 11:20 a.m.
"Financial firms took a beating from looming concerns over a potential global
banking crisis and the worsening of their asset quality," said Kwak Jung-bo, an
analyst at Hana Daetoo Securities.
Wall Street tumbled Tuesday after leading financial firms' warnings on their
mounting losses renewed jitters over the banking sector. The Dow Jones industrial
average fell 4.01 percent and the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index declined
5.78 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,375.15 won to the U.S. dollar as of 11:20
a.m., down 0.65 won from Tuesday's close.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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