Seoul: Seoul shares lost ground late Wednesday morning, as chip shares tumbled after Samsung Electronics reported a sluggish semiconductor business performance in its first-quarter earnings. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 15.47 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,549.95 as of 11:20 a.m., wiping out marginal gains in early trading.

According to Yonhap News Agency, overnight, Wall Street closed higher amid investor optimism over tariff negotiations between Washington and its trading partners, as U.S. President Donald Trump marked the 100th day of his second term in office on Tuesday (U.S. time). The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.75 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 0.55 percent. The S and P 500 added 0.58 percent.

In Seoul, chip shares led the overall losses after Samsung reported that sales of its flagship chip division sank 17 percent on-year in the January-March period due to a weak performance in the high bandwidth memory (HBM) sector. Samsung Electronics dropped 0.45 percent and chip rival SK hynix slid 1.38 percent. Battery and automotive shares also retreated. Top battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution tumbled 4.29 percent and leading automaker Hyundai Motor fell 0.93 percent.

In contrast, financial and internet portal shares advanced. Kookmin Financial added 1.08 percent while top internet portal operator Naver climbed 0.46 percent. K-pop powerhouse Hybe also jumped 4.55 percent after reporting record first-quarter earnings in the previous session. The local currency was trading at 1,431 won against the U.S. dollar at 11:20 a.m., up 6.3 won from the previous session.