Seoul shares down 1.96 pct in late morning

SEOUL, Nov. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks fell nearly 2 percent late Tuesday morning as foreign investors and institutions dumped blue chips on overnight U.S. losses triggered by Citigroup's plan to lay off jobs worldwide, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 21.16 points to
1,057.16 as of 11:20 a.m.
"Global markets are looking towards the U.S. market for stability. We'll have to
see how major U.S. indices to be announced this week will turn out to predict the
short term future," said Bae Sung-yung, an analyst at Hyundai Securities.
The U.S. Labor Department is scheduled to release the nation's producer price
index on Tuesday (local time) and the consumer price index on Wednesday. The
latest U.S. housing statistic is scheduled to be announced on Wednesday.
Wall Street tumbled again Monday after Citigroup said it would cut another 53,000
jobs around the world to deal with the fallout from the financial crisis. The Dow
Jones industrial average slumped 2.63 percent and the tech-dominated Nasdaq
composite index slid 2.29 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,421.2 won to the U.S. dollar as of 11:20
a.m., down 12.2 won from Monday's close.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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