Seoul shares up 0.13 pct in late morning

SEOUL, March 9 (Yonhap) -- Paring earlier gains, South Korean stocks traded a
mere 0.13 percent higher late Monday morning as investors were cautious about the
won's weakness and a revived North Korean missile threat, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) inched up 1.42 points to
1,056.45 as of 11:20 a.m.
"The Seoul bourse trimmed earlier gains in the morning session as foreign
investors extended sales of local stocks and the local currency turned weaker
against the U.S. dollar," said Lee Woo-hyun, a market analyst at KTB Securities.
"Sentiment was still fragile due to economic uncertainty at home and abroad and a
lingering North Korean missile threat."
The Korean currency, which rose as high as 1,536 won to the dollar at one point,
reversed course in the morning session. The won was trading at 1,553.95 won to
the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., down 3.55 won from Friday's close.
Renewed geopolitical risks were also weighing on market sentiment, analysts said.
South Korea and the United States kicked off one of their largest joint annual
military exercises on Monday amid fears North Korea may test-fire a long-range
ballistic missile.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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