Seoul shares down 2.81 pct in late morning

SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks dropped 2.81 percent late Friday
morning as foreign investors unloaded shares following sharp overnight falls on
Wall Street, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 31.13 points to
1,075.97 as of 11:20 a.m.
Shares lost across the board, with banking and financial shares leading the
decline on fears of a fresh credit crisis and rising debt defaults. Market leader
Samsung Electronics Co. and construction companies were hit hard by a sell-off by
foreign investors.
U.S. stocks tumbled Thursday with the Dow Jones industrial average falling 1.19
percent, an over six-year low, and the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index
declining 1.71 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,504.4 won to the U.S. dollar as of 11:20
a.m., down 23.4 won from Thursday's close, on renewed worries about local banks'
dollar liquidity conditions.
It was the first time in three months for the won to breach the 1,500 mark.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
(END)