Seoul shares nearly flat late Mon. morning

South Korean shares trimmed earlier losses to trade nearly flat late Monday morning. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slipped 0.28 point, or 0.01 percent, to 2,674.03 as of 11:20 a.m. The index earlier opened slightly lower on sharp declines in tech and auto shares. The index had dipped more than 1 percent Thursday on reports of the worse-than-anticipated performance by artificial intelligence giant Nvidia, before slightly rebounding on bargain hunting the following day. U.S. stocks closed higher Friday on growing hopes of a U.S. rate cut, with the U.S. Federal Reserve scheduled to hold its rate-setting meeting on Sept. 17 and 18 (U.S. time). In Seoul, most large caps remained in negative territory. Tech giant Samsung Electronics remained flat, while the world's No. 2 chipmaker, SK hynix, lost 1.21 percent. Leading pharmaceutical company Celltrion plummeted 3 percent, with top portal operator Naver dipping 1.71 percent. Top automaker Hyundai Motor plunged 3.91 percent, with its smaller affiliate Kia Motors retreating 0.75 percent. Battery makers were among the few gainers, with industry leader LG Energy Solution surging 6.44 percent, while its local rival Samsung SDS advanced 0.20 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,339.95 won against the U.S. dollar, down 3.95 won from the previous session. Source: Yonhap News Agency