SEOUL: South Korean stocks traded lower late Tuesday morning as investors took to the sidelines on rising speculation that the U.S. central bank is poised to raise interest rates this year, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 3.85 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,142.25 as of 11:20 a.m.
Securities companies and builders fell after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Friday rekindled expectations that the Fed is on track to hike interest rates later this year if the economy keeps improving as expected.
KDB Daewoo Securities slipped 5.3 percent, and Samsung Securities shed 4.9 percent.
Hyundai Engineering & Construction declined 5.21 percent, and Daelim Engineering & Construction retreated 4.78 percent.
In contrast, Samsung Group shares advanced after Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T announced their plans to merge in September, a move seen as part of groupwide efforts to speed up the group’s leadership change.
Cheil Industries, Samsung’s de facto holding company, soared 14.98 percent, and Samsung C&T, a trading and construction arm, vaulted 14.83 percent. Samsung SDS, a key IT unit, also surged 6.98 percent.
