Seoul shares down in late morning on foreign selling

South Korean stocks traded mildly lower late Friday morning as foreign investors offloaded local shares in an apparent move to lock in recent gains, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) inched down 2.33 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,359.32 as of 11:20 a.m.

On Thursday (local time), US stocks dropped, with the S&P 500 Index falling 0.2 percent, led by drops in tech shares. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index retreated 0.4 percent.

Most large caps traded mixed, with market kingpin Samsung Electronics inching up 0.09 percent. SK hynix, a major chipmaker, meanwhile, lost 0.66 percent, and is set to snap a three-day winning streak. Leading automaker Hyundai Motor remained unchanged.

The local currency was trading at 1,131 won against the US dollar, down 6.9 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)