Seoul shares almost flat late Tues. morning

South Korean shares trimmed earlier losses to trade nearly flat late Tuesday morning. Despite the weak opening, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index had remained nearly unchanged at 2,535.96 as of 11:20 a.m. SK hynix, the world's second-largest memory chipmaker, rose 1.02 percent, and home appliance giant LG Electronics added 0.97 percent. Naver, the country's top online portal operator, mounted 1.74 percent, and leading mobile carrier SK Telecom increased 1.06 percent. But tech giant Samsung Electronics fell 1.04 percent, and major battery maker LG Energy Solution tumbled 4.26 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,342.35 won against the U.S. dollar at 11:20 a.m., down 2.65 won from the previous session's close. Source: Yonhap News Agency