Seoul stocks trim earlier losses late Monday morning

SEOUL, Feb. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks continued to trade lower late Monday morning but recouped some of their earlier losses caused by fears of the coronavirus outbreak delaying the country's economic recovery.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had shed 16.44 points, or 0.74 percent, to reach 2,195.51 as of 11:20 a.m.

The index earlier opened sharply lower, losing 30.25 points or 1.37 percent in the first 15 minutes of trading.

It is feared the new coronavirus outbreak will dent the country's economic growth, partly by limiting its domestic consumption as well as its exports to China, where most confirmed cases have been reported.

China is by far the world's largest importer of South Korean products, single-handedly accounting for nearly 20 percent of all South Korean exports in 2019.

Large caps were mixed, with techs in negative terrain but pharmaceuticals and refiners in positive.

Market kingpin Samsung Electronics lost 1.32 percent, with No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix shedding 0.60 percent.

Top pharmaceutical firm Samsung BioLogics advanced 1.16 percent, while leading refiner SK Innovation jumped 1.87 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,188.45 won against the U.S. dollar, down 1.95 won from the previous session's close.

bdk@yna.co.kr
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