KOSPI falls 2 pct on credit, earnings worries
SEOUL, July 8 (Reuters) - Seoul shares extended early losses to be down more than 2 percent late on Tuesday morning, dragged by financials such as Kookmin Bank on renewed credit worries and tech issues such as LG Display facing grim earnings prospects.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index was down 2.15 percent to 1,545.77 points as of 0216 GMT, down 1.9 percent on the year, and back from the year's high of over 1,900 points in May.
The index is now within touching distance of the March 17 low of 1,537.53 points, which was the lowest since April 2007.
Shares in LG Display (034220.KS) were down 1.87 percent to 36,800 won as of 0215 GMT, after Lehman Brothers cut its target price on the company by 17 percent and cut their third quarter operating profit estimate.
Kookmin Bank also tumbled after a major U.S. brokerage cut its rating and target price on South Korea's top commercial lender, pointing to difficulties in transforming the bank into a financial holding compmay.
Kookmin shares lost 5.48 percent to 56,900 won.
The banking subindex .KS51 was down 4.62 percent as of 0219 GMT, on the back of worries about banks' earnings, with the sentiment dampened by credit worries in the United States.
(Reporting by Park Jung-youn; editing by Keiron Henderson)
