stocks-morning

Seoul shares down late Thu. morning on profit taking, U.S. losses

SEOUL, Dec. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks lost ground late Thursday morning as investors took profit following a five-session winning streak and overnight U.S. losses.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 16.65 points, or 0.64 percent, to 2,597.65 as of 11:20 a.m.

On Wednesday, the KOSPI soared 1.78 percent to close at 2,614.30, its highest point since Sept. 15.

U.S. stocks fell overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipping 1.27 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also tumbling 1.50 percent.

Most blue chips traded weaker across the board, with chip behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 0.40 percent and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix also down 1.14 percent.

LG Energy Solution fell 1.16 percent and smaller battery manufacturing rival Samsung SDI also dropped 1.95 percent. Leading steelmaker POSCO Holdings slumped 0.60 percent.

Leading automakers Hyundai Motor and Kia also tumbled 0.65 percent and 0.42 percent, respectively.

The local currency was trading at 1,303.10 won against the U.S. dollar at 11:20 a.m., down 4.20 won from the previous session's close.

odissy@yna.co.kr

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