Seoul Stocks Slide as Battery and Energy Sectors Struggle.

Seoul: South Korean stocks traded lower late Tuesday morning led by losses from battery and energy shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 8.69 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,603.74 as of 11:20 a.m. According to Yonhap News Agency, battery shares were among the biggest losers with industry leader LG Energy Solution falling 2.64 percent and Samsung SDI dropping 2.73 percent. In the energy sector, top oil refinery SK Innovation retreated 1.81 percent, while Korea Gas Corp. saw a significant decline of 4.4 percent. Additionally, SK hynix, the world's second-largest memory chipmaker, experienced a downturn of 2.7 percent, and major chemicals producer LG Chem tumbled 7.52 percent. However, not all was bleak as chip giant Samsung Electronics posted a gain, rising 1.72 percent. On the currency front, the local currency was trading at 1,378.65 won against the U.S. dollar, marking an increase of 6.05 won from the previous session.