Seoul:Seoul shares saw a decline late Tuesday morning, driven by losses in technology stocks amid concerns about rising bond yields reaching multidecade highs.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) initially opened 0.58 percent higher but later fell by 38.89 points, or 0.56 percent, to 6,964.85 as of 11:20 a.m. Foreign investors and individuals sold a net 737.21 billion won (approximately US$549 million) and 34 billion won worth of stocks, respectively, while institutions purchased a net 141.94 billion won.

Investors are shifting their focus to the upcoming corporate earnings reports, despite challenges such as higher interest rates, increased energy costs, and renewed inflation concerns that are driving up global bond yields.

In contrast to Seoul's market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the U.S. rose by 0.18 percent overnight, and the Nasdaq Composite, known for its focus on technology stocks, increased by 1.05 percent. However, in Seoul, technology stocks suffered significant losses, with Samsung Electronics dropping 0.72 percent and SK hynix falling 2.66 percent. Additionally, Korea Aerospace Industries, the nation's sole aircraft manufacturer, saw its shares decline by 4.66 percent.

Amidst these declines, LG Electronics emerged as a notable gainer, jumping 7.18 percent after securing a long-term agreement to supply chillers for artificial intelligence data centers with a North American company.

The Korean won was trading at 1,344.00 against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., showing a decrease of 1.6 won from the previous session's close.