Seoul shares turn lower in late morning

SEOUL, May 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded 0.17 percent lower late
Friday morning as profit-taking moves overshadowed investors' relief from the
results of a stress test on U.S. banks, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 2.34 points to
1,398.74 as of 11:20 a.m.
"The KOSPI traded in a narrow range in the morning session as investors took
profits, brushing off stress test outcomes on U.S. banks in the market," said
Kwak Joong-bo, an analyst at Hana Daetoo Securities Co. "But the market has
upside momentum, given the ongoing buying mode by foreign investors and hopes of
economic recovery."
On Thursday, the Seoul bourse hit the highest level since the beginning of this
year, prompting investors to cash in recent gains in early trading.
Stress test results on the 19 largest U.S. banks revealed that 10 lenders
including Bank of America and Citigroup Inc. need to raise their capital buffers
by a combined US$74.6 billion. The results, which came after the U.S. market
closed, widely met investors' expectations.
The local currency was trading at 1,262.15 won to the U.S. dollar as of 11:20
a.m., up 0.15 won from Thursday's close.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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