▲ This photo taken July 7, 2026, shows the dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) stocks-open

(LEAD) Seoul shares open lower on tech losses

(ATTN: UPDATES with latest details in last 6 paras; CHANGES headline, photo)

SEOUL, July 7 (Yonhap) -- Seoul shares opened lower Tuesday, bucking overnight gains on Wall Street, on profit-taking after Samsung Electronics released its preliminary second-quarter earnings estimate.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 294.53 points, or 3.7 percent, to 7,756.80 at the opening bell.

Local technology stocks fell on profit-taking after Samsung Electronics estimated its April-June operating profit at 89.4 trillion won (US$58.4 billion), beating market forecasts.

The estimate reflects provisions for employee bonuses. Excluding the provisions, operating profit is estimated at around 100 trillion won.

Technology stocks led the decline.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 5.6 percent, while chip giant SK hynix declined 2.3 percent ahead of its planned $29 billion U.S. listing later this week.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor dropped 4.9 percent, and defense company Hanwha Aerospace shed 7.9 percent.

Hanwha Ocean plunged 21 percent after a South Korean consortium that includes the shipbuilder failed to win Canada's multibillion-dollar submarine procurement project.

Among gainers, cosmetics maker Amorepacific rose 1.7 percent, and leading refiner SK Innovation climbed 1.87 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,530.35 won against the U.S. dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 0.35 won from the previous session.

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