Seoul shares sharply down late Tue. morning ahead of Fed meeting

Seoul shares extended losses late Tuesday morning as investors await the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate decision and earnings from major tech firms this week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 28.92 points, or 1.05 percent, to 2,736.61 as of 11:20 a.m. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1 percent to 40,539.93 points, but the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.07 percent to 17,370.20. Institutions and foreigners sold a combined 574.79 billion won (US$415 million) worth of stocks, offsetting individuals' stock buying valued at 562.97 billion won. This week, all eyes are on the Fed's policy decision and earnings results of big tech firms, such as Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. The U.S. central bank is widely expected to cut rates within months. In Seoul, most large-cap stocks declined. Market behemoth Samsung Electronics Co. fell 1.5 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. declined 4.1 percent, top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. shed 0.6 percent, and leading auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis Co. was down 2 percent. Among gainers, leading shipping firm HMM rose 2.6 percent, leading battery maker LG Energy Solution Ltd. climbed 2.4 percent, and leading refiner SK Innovation Co. was up 0.2 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,385.45 won against the U.S. dollar, down 3.55 won from the previous session. Source: Yonhap News Agency