Seoul shares turn lower late Tues. morning amid recession woes

SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Yonhap) -- Seoul stocks traded a tad lower late Tuesday morning as investors took to the sidelines amid concerns over the U.S. Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary tightening and a global economic downturn.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slipped 1.83 percent, or 0.08 points, to 2,401.85 as of 11:20 a.m.

Stocks opened higher on tech gains following a three-day losing streak.

The key stock index increasingly lost ground in late morning on institutional and foreign sell-offs.

Large caps traded mixed in Seoul.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. traded flat, with No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. climbing 0.44 percent.

Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. lost 0.85 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia Corp. declined 0.12 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,370.95 won against the U.S. dollar, up 0.45 won from the previous session's close.
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