Seoul stocks down late Thurs. morning on profit-taking

SEOUL-- South Korean stocks traded lower late Thursday morning as investors sought to cash in gains after the market enjoyed a four-session winning streak.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 20.17 points, or 0.63 percent, to trade at 3,186.85 points as of 11:20 a.m.

The key index had recently been on the rise, backed by dovish comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell last week and robust exports last month.

The KOSPI traded lower as investors offloaded market heavyweights, such as chip, auto and bio stocks.

Market kingpin Samsung Electronics fell 0.91 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker retreated 0.93 percent.

Pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics slipped 0.94 percent, and Celltrion moved down 0.34 percent.

Online lender KakaoBank plummeted 6.53 percent amid reports of shareholder Korea Post offloading its shares.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor lost 1.63 percent, while leading chemical firm LG Chem declined 0.97 percent.

Rechargeable battery maker Samsung SDI dropped 4.31 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,159.00 won against the U.S. dollar, down 1.8 won from the previous session's close.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

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