SEOUL: South Korean stocks traded 0.31 percent lower late Tuesday morning as investors remained cautious ahead of the release of China’s trade data.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slipped 5.93 points to 1,877.29 as of 11:20 a.m.
China is set to announce its export and import data for August later in the day, providing what could be a glimpse of the health of the world’s second-largest economy.
Chemicals firms led the decline, with industry leader LG Chem losing 1.59 percent and Lotte Chemical sinking 3.1 percent.
AmorePacific, the largest cosmetics company, slid 2.11 percent and LG Household & Healthcare dropped 1.6 percent.
The local currency was changing hands at 1,205.8 won against the greenback as of 11:20 a.m., down 2.1 won from Monday’s close.
