Seoul shares down 0.17 pct in late-morning trade

SEOUL (Yonhap) - South Korean stocks traded 0.17 percent lower late Tuesday morning as heavy foreign buying outweighed net buying by institutions and retail investors, analysts said.
After shifting to positive territory, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dipped 3.5 points to 2,052.21 as of 11:20 a.m.
Blue chip exporters underwent losses with leading shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries falling more than 2 percent. Mobile carriers were also bearish on views the government may move to reduce telecom service rates. Top mobile carrier SK Telecom fell nearly 2 percent.
In contrast, financials outperformed the market with state-run Woori Finance Holdings gaining almost 2 percent.
The local currency was changing hands at 1,096.7 won to the greenback as of 11:20 a.m., up 1.2 won from Monday's close.