Seoul shares sharply down late Thurs. morning on tech losses

South Korean shares traded sharply lower late Thursday morning amid sharp declines in tech shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index had lost 47.89 points, or 1.74 percent, to 2,710.82 as of 11:20 a.m. The index had opened lower, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.25 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 3.64 percent Wednesday (U.S. time) on worse-than-expected Q2 performances by major tech companies, including Tesla. In Seoul, large caps traded mixed, while the so-called big tech shares suffered heavy losses. Market kingpin and tech giant Samsung Electronics tumbled 2.07 percent, while the world's No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix plunged 8.39 percent, despite posting the highest operating profit in nearly six years in the second quarter. Top pharmaceutical firm Celltrion surged 3.67 percent, with leading battery maker LG Energy Solution advancing 2.33 percent. Leading automaker Hyundai Motor lost 3.29 percent, while its smaller affiliate Kia Motors retreated 2.62 percent. The local currency was trading at 1.385.50 won against the U.S. dollar, down 1.70 won from the previous session's close. Source: Yonhap News Agency