Seoul shares down late Thur. morning amid U.S. midterm elections, cryptocurrency crash

SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded lower late Thursday morning on an overnight dip on Wall Street amid the upcoming U.S. midterm election results and a crash in cryptocurrencies.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had declined 14.18 points, or 0.58 percent, to 2,410.23 points as of 11:20 a.m.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.95 percent Wednesday, with the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite and S&P 500 retreating 2.48 percent and 2.08 percent, respectively.

Investors are paying keen attention to the results of the U.S. midterm elections. Their appetite for risky assets also dwindled amid volatility in the cryptocurrency markets.

Foreign sell-offs led the KOSPI's loss.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics dropped 1.77 percent, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix added 0.56 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor gained 0.59, but its smaller affiliate Kia slipped 0.15 percent. Chemical giant LG Chem decreased 1.68 percent.

The Korean won was changing hands at 1,369.1 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 4.3 won from the previous session's close.

jwc@yna.co.kr
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