Seoul shares down 0.81 pct in late-morning trade

SEOUL, July 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded 0.81 percent lower late Thursday morning due largely to a grim outlook for the U.S. economic recovery, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 17.67 points to 2,156.64 as of 11:20 a.m. Most large-cap shares lost ground with market giant Samsung Electronics falling 1.54 percent and LG Electronics tumbling 2.74 percent. Steelmakers went bearish as No. 1 player POSCO dropped 1.37 percent and Hyundai Steel fell 1.48 percent. The bourse failed to get a boost although the central bank reported that South Korea's current account surplus hit an eight-month high of US$2.99 billion in June, bolstered by record exports. The local currency was trading at 1,052.85 won to the greenback as of 11:20 a.m., down 2.75 won from Wednesday's close.