South Korean stocks traded lower late Wednesday morning on heavy foreign selling ahead of the interest rate decision in the United States.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had fallen 17.66 points, or 0.67 percent, to 2,618.8 as of 11:20 a.m.
The index opened slightly lower and extended losses as foreign and institutional selling offset retail buying.
Eyes are on the Federal Reserve's two-day rate-setting meeting that began Tuesday (local time), where the U.S. central bank is largely expected to raise the key rate by 0.25 percentage point. Investors harbor hopes that this might be the final rate hike in the monetary tightening cycle.
On the Seoul bourse, top-cap shares traded mixed.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics sank 2.29 percent, while leading battery maker LG Energy Solution rose 0.84 percent.
SK hynix fell 1.23 percent after it reported second-quarter losses on sagging demand, though expectations run high for a turnaround in the second half.
Major chemical firm LG Chem climbed 1.93 percent, while Samsung SDI shed 0.56 percent.
POSCO shares trade bullish, with POSCO Holdings spiking 12.77 percent and POSCO Future M jumping 8.86 percent.
But carmakers lost ground. Top automaker Hyundai Motor tumbled 2.04 percent, and Kia sank 2.6 percent.
Among decliners, major bio firm Samsung Biologics decreased 2.18 percent, and internet giant Naver lost 1.69 percent. Kakao, the operator of the popular mobile messenger KakaoTalk, retreated 3.38 percent.
The local currency was changing hands at 1,280.9 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., down 5.5 won from the previous session's close.
Source: Yonhap News Agency