Korean shares lose ground on profit-taking

South Korean shares lost ground late Tuesday morning as institutions engaged in profit-taking. The won traded higher against the dollar. 

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index surrendered 1.30 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,369.60 as of 11:20 a.m.

Institutional investors offloaded a net 232 billion won ($204 million) worth of stocks.

Foreigners and individuals bought stocks worth a combined 217 billion won, keeping the main index from falling further.

Large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 2.10 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix climbed 3.82 percent. Leading steelmaker POSCO was up 0.18 percent.

Among decliners, top carmaker Hyundai Motor fell 0.60 percent, and utility firm Korea Electric Power Corp. declined 1.78 percent, and leading cosmetics firm AmorePacific was down 1.79 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,136.65 won against the dollar, up 3.95 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)