Seoul shares trade lower on economic woes

SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded lower late Thursday morning as growing concerns over the global economy outweighed the passing of the U.S. financial sector bailout bill, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 12.84 points, or
0.89 percent, to 1,426.83 as of 11:20 a.m.
"The KOSPI traded weaker despite the passage of the bailout bill because the news
had been already factored into the Seoul bourse in recent sessions and there is
still lingering uncertainty over the progress of the rescue plan," said Park
Suk-hyun, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities Co.
The U.S. Senate passed a revised $700 billion financial sector bailout bill on
Wednesday (local time). On Monday, the House of Representatives unexpectedly
rejected an original version of the rescue package, which sent global stock
markets tumbling.
Tech bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 1.13 percent and top steelmaker POSCO
lost 3.44 percent.
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., the world's third-largest shipyard,
declined 3.2 percent after South Korea's pension fund said it has decided to
scrap its plan to bid for the shipyard. The National Pension Service has been in
talks with POSCO, GS Group and Hanwha Group to choose a partner for the
acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding.
The local currency was trading at 1,206.55 won to the U.S. dollar as of 11:20
a.m., down 19.55 won from Wednesday's close.