Seoul, July 13 (IANS) Seoul shares extended losses late on Monday morning, led by falls in chipmakers, bucking gains on Wall Street, as renewed tensions in the Middle East weighed on investor sentiment.

After opening 0.85 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) extended losses, falling 392.53 points, or 5.25 percent, to 7,083.41 as of 11:20 am, reports Yonhap news agency.

The decline came as the United States and Iran exchanged fresh strikes over the status of the Strait of Hormuz.

On Sunday (U.S. time), the U.S. military launched strikes against Iran following Iran’s drone attacks on U.S. allies in the Middle East.

On Friday, U.S. stocks advanced, buoyed by South Korean chipmaker SK hynix’s multibillion-dollar U.S. share offering. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.29 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite also climbed 0.29 percent.

SK hynix’s American depositary receipts (ADRs) on the Nasdaq closed at US$168 each, well above the offering price of $149.

Institutions and foreigners sold a net 501.77 billion won (US$333 million) and 906.28 billion won worth of stocks, respectively. Individuals bought a net 1.38 trillion won stocks.

In Seoul, tech stocks led the decline. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 5.09 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix plunged 9.08 percent.

Flag carrier Korean Air declined 2.24 percent, and defence giant Hanwha Aerospace shed 1.65 percent.

Among gainers, top carmaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.22 percent and Hyundai Steel climbed 4.09 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,505.35 won against the U.S. dollar at 11:20 a.m., down 6.85 won from the previous session.

Earlier, South Korea’s bourse operator activated a sell-side sidecar for the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) after the index tumbled sharply.

The KOSPI came under heavy selling pressure as investors offloaded market heavyweights amid renewed tensions in the Middle East.

—IANS

na/