SEOUL: South Korean stocks traded 0.32 percent lower late Monday morning, affected by losses in brokerage, tech and chemical companies, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slipped 6.56 points to 2,039.4 as of 11:20 a.m.
Most brokerage shares traded lower, with Mirae Asset Securities plunging 5 percent and KDB Daewoo Securities falling 4.23 percent.
Tech and petrochemical shares added to the downward trend. Chipmaking giant SK hynix fell nearly 2 percent, while top Internet portal operator Naver lost 2.24 percent. Chemicals maker LG Chem also shed 2.5 percent.
Cosmetics manufacturers were among some marked gainers, with Amore Pacific gaining 3.55 percent. Smaller rival LG Household & Health Care surged 13.48 percent following its better-than-expected second-quarter earnings.
The local currency was changing hands at 1,167.9 won against the greenback in Seoul as of 11:20 a.m., up 0.6 won from Friday’s close.
