Seoul shares down 2.14 pct in late-morning trade

SEOUL, July 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded 2.14 percent lower late Tuesday morning as heavy sell-offs by foreigners and institutions outweighed retail buying, analysts said.
   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) sank 46.16 points to 2,111 as of 11:20 a.m.
   Shares broadly lost ground, with blue-chip exporters leading the decline. No. 1 chemical maker LG Chem tumbled more than 4 percent and Samsung Electronics, the world's top maker of memory chips and liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, lost nearly 2 percent.
   The local currency was changing hands at 1,065.95 won to the greenback as of 11:20 a.m., down 8.15 won from Monday's close.
   mil@yna.co.kr
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