stocks-morning

Seoul shares down late Tues. morning on profit taking, mixed U.S. stock results

SEOUL, June 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks lost ground late Tuesday morning after strong gains in the previous session and mixed overnight results on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 10.58 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,671.94 as of 11:20 a.m.

The KOSPI rallied 1.74 percent on Monday as investors' sentiment was boosted by favorable economic data that could lead to a rate cut in the United States.

Overnight, Wall Street shares finished mixed amid the latest economic indicators showing a slowing of the U.S. economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3 percent while the Nasdaq composite gained 0.6 percent and the S&P 500 edged up 0.1 percent.

In Seoul, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix shed 0.21 percent and leading automaker Hyundai Motor slipped 1.13 percent.

Financial shares also lost ground, with KB Financial and Hana Financial plummeting 2.02 percent and 2.34 percent, respectively.

In contrast, battery and pharmaceutical stocks advanced. Top battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution gained 0.9 percent and pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics rose 0.66 percent. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics added 0.13 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,372.6 won against the U.S. dollar, up 3.5 won from the previous session's close.

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