SEOUL, South Korean stocks traded 1.62 percent lower late Thursday morning on losses in battery and tech shares.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had shed 39.99 points to 2,422.61 as of 11:20 a.m.
Battery shares led the sharp decline following a drop in Tesla Inc.’s third-quarter earnings overnight.
Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution slumped 2.69 percent and POSCO Future M sank 4.19 percent.
Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest memory chipmaker, fell 1.13 percent and its rival SK hynix declined 2.46 percent.
LG Electronics also retreated 0.28 percent and its flat screen-making affiliate LG Display lost 0.57 percent.
Kakao, the operator of No. 1 mobile chat app KakaoTalk, slid 2.75 percent after its chief investment officer was arrested for alleged stock price manipulation in its takeover bid for K-pop agency SM Entertainment.
The local currency was changing hands at 1,356.95 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., down 7.35 won from the previous session’s close.
Source: Yonhap News Agency