SEOUL, Seoul shares trimmed earlier gains late Wednesday morning on tech losses, with investors keeping an eye on whether the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut rates this year.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 2.68 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,737.04 as of 11:20 a.m.
Overnight, U.S. stocks ended nearly flat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.08 percent at 38,884.26, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.1 percent to 16,332.56.
In Seoul, institutions and foreigners bought a combined 59.5 billion won (US$44 million) worth of stocks, offsetting individuals’ stock selling valued at 46.2 billion won.
Tech stocks were lead decliners.
Market behemoth Samsung Electronics Co. fell 0.4 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. declined 1.3 percent, leading wireless services provider SK Telecom Co. shed 0.2 percent, and leading tourism agency Hana Tour was down 1 percent.
Among gainers, No. 2 carmaker Kia Corp. rose 0.6 percent, national flag carrier Korean Air Co. climbed 0.7 percent,
leading battery maker LG Energy Solution Ltd. gained 0.8 percent, and leading shipping firm HMM was up 2.6 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,364.25 won against the U.S. dollar, down 4.15 won from the previous session’s close.