Seoul:Shares in Seoul extended their losses late Thursday morning, following Wall Street's downturn, as rising oil prices fueled inflation concerns.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) opened up by 0.07 percent but quickly reversed course, falling 54.22 points, or 0.8 percent, to 6,749.68 by 1120 a.m. This decline mirrored the overnight performance of U.S. markets, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by 0.66 percent and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 0.22 percent.

Institutional and foreign investors sold a net total of 457.28 billion won (approximately US$342 million) and 666.37 billion won in stocks, respectively, while individual investors purchased a net 834.66 billion won. The investor sentiment was cautious due to higher oil prices contributing to inflationary pressures, along with signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve about potential interest rate hikes this year to control inflation.

In the Seoul market, large-cap stocks experienced mixed results. Samsung Electronics dropped by 0.56 percent, Hyundai Motor saw a decline of 3.05 percent, Hanwha Aerospace fell by 5.86 percent, and HMM decreased by 2.57 percent. In contrast, SK hynix gained 1.33 percent, and Samsung SDI increased by 3.74 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,337.35 won against the U.S. dollar at 1120 a.m., marking an increase of 1.65 won from the previous session's close.