Seoul shares shed early gains on losses from auto, financial stocks

Seoul shares shed early gains late Tuesday morning due to losses from carmakers and financial firms. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had added 0.6 points, or 0.02 percent, to 2,858.36 as of 11:20 a.m. Carmakers lost ground, with Hyundai Motors losing 3.36 percent and its smaller sister Kia losing 2.58 percent. Auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis shed 2.32 percent. Financial firms also traded lower, with KB Financial falling 3.11 percent and Shinhan Financial moving down 2.12 percent. Top tech giant Samsung Electronics, on the other hand, rose 0.57 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix climbed 1.07 percent. Leading online search engine operator Naver added 0.18 percent, and its smaller rival Kakao gained 0.47 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,385.5 won against the U.S. dollar at 11:20 a.m., down 2.2 won from the previous session's close. Source: Yonhap News Agency