SEOUL, South Korean stocks traded lower late Wednesday morning as investors offloaded tech shares amid concerns of potential new regulations against online platform giants over their market dominance.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 13.74 points, or 0.43 percent, to trade at 3,173.68 points as of 11:20 a.m.
The main bourse got off to a downbeat start amid concerns about the pace of U.S. economic recovery after the release of a disappointing U.S. jobs report Friday (U.S. time).
The KOSPI remained in negative terrain as investor sentiment was weighed down after ruling Democratic Party lawmakers voiced concerns a day earlier over market dominance of tech giant Kakao and its rapid business expansion in recent years.
Kakao plummeted 8.12 percent, and internet portal operator Naver skid 5.85 percent.
Market kingpin Samsung Electronics added 0.26 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gained 0.96 percent.
Pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics fell 1.16 percent, while leading chemical firm LG Chem retreated 0.53 percent.
Top automaker Hyundai Motor added 0.24 percent, and video game giant Krafton advanced 3.34 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,163.7 won against the U.S. dollar, down 5.9 won from the previous session’s close.
Source: Yonhap News Agency