▲ A board shows the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) hit an all-time high of 4,715.75 points in intraday trading at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul on Jan. 14, 2026. (Yonhap)

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Seoul shares down late Wed. morning after topping 4,700-point mark

SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded slightly lower late Wednesday morning due to losses from battery and defense shares after surpassing the 4,700-point mark.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 12.6 points, or 0.27 percent, to 4,680.04 as of 11:20 a.m.

Swinging between negative and positive terrain, the index touched an all-time intraday high of 4,715.75 points at 9:48 a.m.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution fell 1.65 percent, and POSCO Future M slumped 4.57 percent.

Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace lost 2.34 percent, and LIG Nex1 retreated 3.42 percent.

Shipbuilders were also weak as HD Hyundai Heavy Industries sank 4.19 percent and Hanwha Ocean tumbled 5.8 percent.

Semiconductor shares, a main driver of the KOSPI's recent rally, traded mixed as Samsung Electronics rose 1.09 percent but SK hynix fell 0.88 percent.

Hanmi Semiconductor jumped 3.23 percent on a deal to provide high bandwidth memory (HBM) manufacturing equipment to SK hynix.

The local currency was trading at 1,478.2 won against the greenback at 11:20 a.m., down 4.3 won from the previous session.

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