Seoul: South Korean shares traded sharply lower late Tuesday morning as investors sought to take profits after the stock market continued its bull run. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had lost 68.44 points, or 1.62 percent, to 4,153.43 as of 11:20 a.m.

According to Yonhap News Agency, foreigners and institutions were unloading local shares for profit-taking after the KOSPI rallied Monday to breach the 4,200 mark for the first time. Retail investors were continuing their net purchase. Meanwhile, in the international markets, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 0.46 percent on blue-chip tech shares, and the S and P 500 added 0.17 percent, though the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.47 percent.

In specific stock movements, Amazon Web Services surged 4 percent following a multiyear US$38 billion deal with OpenAI. Additionally, Nvidia rose 2.17 percent after receiving approval from the Donald Trump administration to export Nvidia chips for Microsoft's data centers in the United Arab Emirates.

In the local market, market bellwether Samsung Electronics dipped 2.7 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix slid 4.35 percent after both surged to a record high Monday. Major shipbuilders experienced declines as well, with HD Hyundai Heavy dropping 6.59 percent, Hanwha Ocean decreasing 2.09 percent, and HD Korea Shipbuilding pulling back 3.23 percent.

The defense industry leader Hanwha Aerospace lost 2.35 percent, and auto giant Hyundai Motor plunged 4.46 percent. Internet portal operator Naver declined 2.37 percent, and power equipment builder Hyundai Electric decreased 3.06 percent. In contrast, major financial firm KB Financial jumped 2.97 percent, and bio company Celltrion rose 1.15 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,439.1 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., sliding 10.3 won from the previous session.