Seoul shares trade 0.22 pct lower late morning

SEOUL, Dec. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded 0.22 percent lower late Wednesday morning as Dubai debt woes and a cut in Greece's credit rating fanned concerns over a weak economic recovery, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 3.64 points to
1,624.14 as of 11:20 a.m.
Bank and securities shares lost ground. No. 2 financial services company Shinhan
Financial Group shed 1.19 percent and its rival Woori Finance Holdings lost 2.29
percent.
U.S. stocks closed sharply lower Tuesday as investor appetite for risky assets
was subdued after Fitch Ratings cut Greece's debt rating. The Dow Jones
industrial average declined 1 percent and the tech-laden Nasdaq composite index
shed 0.76 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,162.3 won to the U.S. dollar as of 11:20
a.m., down 7.2 won from Tuesday's close.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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