Seoul shares sharply down late Fri. morning on Wall Street losses

Seoul shares fell more than 1.3 percent late Friday morning in line with overnight losses on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 37.86 points, or 1.34 percent, to 2,786.49 as of 11:20 a.m. Overnight, Wall Street shares tumbled as a weeklong decline in tech and chip stocks expanded to other blue chips. The S and P 500 and Nasdaq composite dropped 0.78 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 1.29 percent. In Seoul, most blue chips traded in negative territory. Chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix lost 2.3 percent and 0.94 percent, respectively. Automotive stocks also extended their losses from the past few sessions. Hyundai Motor and Kia shed 1.34 percent and 2.17 percent, respectively. Energy and financial shares also retreated. Leading refiner SK Innovation tumbled 3.8 percent, and Kookmin Financial fell 0.71 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,387.3 won against the U.S. dollar at 11:20 a.m., down 5.6 won from the previous session's close. Source: Yonhap News Agency