Seoul shares down 1.28% in late morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 1.28 percent lower late Monday morning due to losses in techs and automakers.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 25.14 points to 1,936.17 as of 11:20 a.m.

Top market cap Samsung Electronics slumped 2.94 percent, and global chipmaker SK Hynix fell 1.46 percent.

No. 1 automaker Hyundai Motor fell 2.68 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors shed 3.04 percent.

In contrast, LG Chem, the country's top chemical firm, advanced 3.5 percent.

U.S. stocks dropped by more than 1 percent Thursday on the final trading session of 2015 on a decline in tech stocks. Apple Inc. fell for the fourth time in five days. It dropped 4.7 percent last year, its worst in seven years.

The local currency was trading at 1,183.55 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., down 11.05 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)