stocks-morning

Seoul shares down late Fri. morning on U.S. slump

SEOUL, March 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks dropped more than 1 percent late Friday morning, as investors locked in profits after a three-session winning streak.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index had dropped 28.81 points, or 1.06 percent, to 2,691.25 as of 11:20 a.m.

Overnight, Wall Street lost ground after the February producer price index showed U.S. inflation was hotter than expected.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4 percent, and the S&P 500 dropped 0.3 percent. The Nasdaq Composite also shed 0.3 percent.

In Seoul, blue chips retreated across the board, with market heavyweight Samsung Electronics down 1.62 percent and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix shedding 1.3 percent.

Financial shares also faced corrections following strong gains in the past few sessions. KB Financial fell 3.31 percent, and Shinhan Financial slipped 3.69 percent.

Battery-related shares also declined amid lingering worrisome U.S. electric vehicle market outlooks. LG Energy Solution slumped 3.37 percent, and Samsung SDI dropped 4.15 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,329.05 won against the U.S. dollar, down 11.45 won from the previous session's close.

odissy@yna.co.kr

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