Seoul shares extend losses as investors lock in profits after Samsung earnings estimate

SEOUL, July 7 (Yonhap) -- Seoul shares extended losses late Tuesday morning as investors locked in profits following Samsung Electronics Co.'s preliminary second-quarter earnings estimate, with heavy foreign selling weighing on the market.

After opening 1.6 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 433.81 points, or 5.39 percent, to 7,617.52 as of 11:20 a.m.

The local market bucked overnight gains on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.29 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 1.12 percent.

Institutions and foreigners sold a net 97.3 billion won (US$64 million) and 1.74 trillion won, respectively, while individuals bought a net 1.81 trillion won.

Technology stocks plunged on profit-taking after Samsung Electronics estimated its operating profit for the April-June period at 89.4 trillion won, beating market forecasts.

In Seoul, technology shares led the declines.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 7.4 percent, while chip giant SK hynix declined 6.4 percent ahead of its planned $29 billion U.S. listing later this week.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor dropped 5.9 percent, and defense company Hanwha Aerospace shed 4 percent.

Hanwha Ocean plunged 23 percent after a South Korean consortium that includes the shipbuilder failed to win Canada's multibillion-dollar submarine procurement project.

Among gainers, cosmetics maker Amorepacific rose 2.9 percent, and leading refiner SK Innovation climbed 3.9 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,527.40 won per U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., up 2.6 won from the previous session.