[THE INVESTOR] South Korean stocks fell back 0.16 percent late morning on Oct. 28.

The benchmark KOSPI shed 3.18 points to 2,020.94 as of 11:20 a.m.

Samsung Electronics rose 1.72 percent after its shareholders on Oct. 27 approved the nomination of Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong to the electronics giant’s board of directors. Its third-quarter earnings dropped 30 percent on-year due to fallout from the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones.

SK Innovation, the nation’s largest refiner, advanced 0.97 percent after its third-quarter operating profit rose 12 percent from a year earlier thanks to the sound petrochemical business.

Korea Power Electric Corp, the state-run power provider, slipped 2.16 percent, and leading steelmaker POSCO retreated 2.67 percent.

The South Korean won was changing hands at 1,144.7 won against the US dollar, down 2.2 won from the previous session’s close.


(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)