(LEAD) Seoul stocks close 1.12 pct lower on exporter losses

(ATTN: ADDS bond yields at bottom)
By Park Bo-ram
SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks finished 1.12 percent lower Friday
as a strengthening local currency plunged exporting companies, analysts said.

The
South Korean won closed lower against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 18.63 points to
end at 1,640.36, reversing two-day gains. Volume was light at 365.4 million
shares worth 5.7 trillion won (US$4.9 billion) with losers outnumbering gainers
506 to 286.
"The local currency, hovering around the 1,150-won level against the U.S. dollar,
prompted sell-offs of exporting firms by institutional investors," said Sim
Jae-yup, an analyst at Meritz Securities. "Foreign investors, however, remained
net buyers as they saw local shares are still relatively cheap".
Tech companies and automakers, two key exporting sectors, led the broader index
drop as a stronger won was feared to erode their profitability down the road.
LG Display, the world's second-largest liquid crystal display producer, plunged
4.21 percent to end at 31,850 won a day