Seoul shares sharply down late Thu. morning on profit taking, mixed U.S. results

SEOUL, June 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks fell over 1.7 pct late Thursday morning following mixed overnight results on Wall Street and profit taking following the recent market rally. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) tumbled 53.15 points, or 1.71 percent, to 3,055.1 as of 11:20 a.m. Overnight, Wall Street ended mixed with no significant new catalysts following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran. The Dow Jones Industrial Average went down 0.25 percent, and the S&P 500 closed flat while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite went up 0.31 percent. In Seoul, most blue chips lost ground, with market heavyweight Samsung Electronics down 1.63 percent and top automaker Hyundai Motor falling 3.69 percent. Top shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries plunged 5.72 percent, and top internet portal operator Naver nosedived 8.38 percent. Leading steelmaker POSCO Holdings and top refiner SK Innovation lost 1.3 percent and 1.38 percent, respectively. In contrast, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix jumped 2.97 percent, and top chemical firm LG Chem gained 0.71 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,358.25 won against the greenback at 11:20 a.m., up 4.15 won from the previous session. This photo taken June 26, 2025, shows a dealing room at Hana Bank in Seoul. (Yonhap) odissy@yna.co.kr(END)