[THE INVESTOR] South Korean shares slid late morning on Oct. 17, as institutional traders sold off stocks amid market uncertainties.

The benchmark KOSPI shed 2.34 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,020.32 as of 11:20 a.m.

Institutions were net sellers, while foreigners and individuals net-purchased shares.

Starting the week, in particular, investors’ appetite for less risky assets appeared to be growing amid unrelenting uncertainties at home and abroad, market watchers said.



Concerns persist about the possibility of a “hard Brexit,” a slowdown in the Chinese economy, and geopolitical risks.

The US is widely expected to push up its policy interest rates within this year.

Analysts cited the possible impact from recent consumer price rises in the US and other major economies.

Top cap Samsung Electronics shed 0.51 percent, while the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. gained 2.33 percent.

Front-running automaker Hyundai Motor advanced 0.75 percent and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors climbed 0.73 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,142 won against the US greenback, down 9.40 won from the previous session’s close.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)