Seoul stocks down 0.47 pct in late morning

SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea stocks traded 0.47 percent lower late
Tuesday morning as North Korea's nuke test dented investor sentiment, analysts
said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slid 6.63 points to
1,394.27 as of 11:20 a.m.
"The market trading is range-bound as investors remained watchful of the nuclear
issue in the North," said Bae Sung-young, an analyst at Hyundai Securities.
North Kore said Monday it has conducted a nuclear test and threatened further
missile tests in its protest against a "policy of intimidation" by the U.S. and
its allies.
"The political risk, however, will be short-lived and any momentum will likely
come from economic indicators to be released later this week," Bae said.
The local currency was trading at 1,259.6 won to the U.S. dollar as of 11:20
a.m., down 11.1 won from Monday's close.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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