Seoul stocks down late Tues. morning amid virus woes

SEOUL, Nov. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded lower late Tuesday morning, wiping out their earlier gains, as concerns over the potential impact of the omicron coronavirus variant continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 21.1 points, or 0.73 percent, to 2,888.22 as of 11:20 a.m. on worries that the new COVID-19 variant might dampen economic growth at home and abroad.

The KOSPI opened higher, as investors tried to buy oversold stocks following the global market's rebound Monday.

South Korea reported 3,032 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, with the new variant not being detected yet.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics edged up 0.14 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix remained flat.

Pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics rose 1.7 percent, with Celltrion up 1.88 percent.

Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor went down 0.5 percent, and steelmaker POSCO increased 0.38 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,186.50 won against the U.S. dollar, up 6.5 won from the previous session's close.

jaeyeon.woo@yna.co.kr
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