Seoul stocks fall 0.56 pct in late morning

SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded 0.56 percent lower late Friday morning as investors dumped tech and steel shares amid deepening global recession woes, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 6.48 points to
1,160.08 as of 11:20 a.m.
"The market got off to a weak start, affected by overnight pullbacks in U.S.
stocks but it pared early losses as foreigners and institutions hunted for
bargains," said Lee Sun-yup, an analyst at Goodmorning Shinhan Securities.
Tech and steel shares led the market lower, while financial shares gained ground
on optimism that the U.S. government will announce measures next week aimed at
absorbing bad debts owned by embattled banks.
On Thursday, U.S. stocks retreated on renewed worries about economy. The Dow
Jones industrial average dropped 2.7 percent and the tech-dominated Nasdaq
composite index fell 3.24 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,381.3 to the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m.,
down 2.8 won from Thursday's close.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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