Seoul shares down 0.32 pct in late-morning trade

SEOUL, May 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded 0.32 percent lower late Tuesday morning as investor sentiment was cooled by concerns about the eurozone sovereign crisis, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 6.72 points to 2,097.46 as of 11:20 a.m. The KOSPI opened higher on the back of bank gains, but concerns about the eurozone debt crisis continued to weigh on sentiment, leading the key stock index to reverse earlier gains. Eurozone finance ministers on Monday approved an emergency loan worth 78 billion euros (US$110.3 billion) for debt-stricken Portugal, but they called for Greece to make rigorous efforts to cut debts without concluding on whether to offer aid to the country. Tech shares lost ground with market leader Samsung Electronics falling 0.89 percent. But No. 2 banking group Woori Finance rose 0.74 percent ahead of the government's move to unveil its blue print for the group's privatization. The local currency was trading at 1,092.95 won to the greenback as of 11:20 a.m., down 1.75 won from Monday's close, dealers said.