Seoul shares down late Wed. morning on tech, auto losses

SEOUL, South Korean stocks traded lower late Wednesday morning due to losses from technology and automobile shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 10.13 points, or 0.41 percent, to 2,468.48 as of 11:20 a.m. Tech shares led the overall losses, with top cap Samsung Electronics losing 2.13 percent and major chipmaker SK hynix falling 1.7 percent. Battery makers traded mixed, with LG Energy Solution rising 2.41 percent while Samsung SDI shed 0.28 percent. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor shed 0.27 percent, and Kia Motors moved down 0.91 percent. Chemical shares limited the decline, with LG Chem advancing 3.84 percent and SK Innovation jumping 3.55 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,340.3 won against the U.S. dollar, down 6.9 won from the previous session's close. Source: Yonhap News Agency