Seoul shares extend losses as tech stocks decline amid rising bond yields

SEOUL, Oct. 6 (Yonhap) -- Seoul shares extended their losses late Tuesday morning, led by declines in technology stocks, amid concerns over rising bond yields at multidecade highs.

After opening 0.58 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) turned lower, trading down 38.89 points, or 0.56 percent, to 6,964.85 as of 11:20 a.m.

Foreigners and individuals sold a net 737.21 billion won (US$549 million) and 34 billion won worth of stocks, respectively. Institutions bought a net 141.94 billion.

Investors are now turning their attention to upcoming corporate earnings, although higher interest rates, elevated energy costs and renewed inflation worries are pushing up global bond yields.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.18 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 1.05 percent.

In Seoul, tech stocks were the lead decliners.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 0.72 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix declined 2.66 percent.

Korea Aerospace Industries, the country's sole aircraft manufacturer, dropped 4.66 percent.

Among gainers, LG Electronics jumped 7.18 percent as it has secured a long-term agreement to supply chillers for artificial intelligence data centers with a North American company.

The Korean won was trading at 1,344.00 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., down 1.6 won from the previous stock trading session's close.