Seoul shares turn lower as institutions, foreigners offload stocks

SEOUL, July 6 (Yonhap) -- Seoul shares turned lower late Monday morning after a mixed close on Wall Street, with institutions and foreigners offloading local stocks ahead of major companies' second-quarter earnings releases.

After opening 1.06 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 138.60 points, or 1.71 percent, to 7,949.74 as of 11:20 a.m.

On Thursday, U.S. stocks ended mixed before the Independence Day holiday. U.S. markets were closed on Friday in observance of the holiday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.14 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.8 percent.

Investors are assessing whether the artificial intelligence (AI)-driven rally can be sustained and are looking to corporate earnings for signs that massive spending on AI infrastructure is translating into profits.

Institutions and foreigners sold a combined 1.29 trillion won (US$840 million) worth of stocks, while individuals bought a net 1.23 trillion won.

In Seoul, technology stocks were mixed.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 0.65 percent, but SK hynix fell 3.1 percent ahead of the chipmaker's planned $29 billion U.S. listing later this week.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor climbed 1.12 percent, LIG Defense and Aerospace gained 1.25 percent, and shipping firm HMM were up 0.73 percent.

Among decliners, leading battery firm LG Energy Solution fell 3 percent, and low-cost carrier Jeju Air declined 2.7 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,534.25 won per U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., down 8.65 won from the previous session.

On Monday, the Korean won began trading on a 24-hour basis, a move aimed at improving foreign investors' access to local markets and bolstering the case for an upgrade in MSCI's developed-market index.