SEOUL: South Korean stocks erased earlier gains and turned lower late Tuesday morning, driven by widening losses in cosmetics firms and oil refiners, analysts said.
After starting some 0.5 percent higher at the opening bell, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 7.6 points, or 0.39 percent, to 1,960.92 as of 11:20 a.m.
Leading cosmetics producer Amore Pacific slumped 3 percent, and SK Innovation, a key oil refiner, dipped 3 percent.
But auto blue chips gathered ground. Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s No. 1 carmaker, climbed 2 percent, with its smaller affiliate Kia Motors soaring 3.3 percent.
The local currency was changing hands at 1,183.00 won against the greenback as of 11:20 a.m., up 0.1 won from Monday’s close.
