Seoul stocks deepen losses late Mon. morning ahead of Fed meeting
SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's main stock index extended its losses late Monday morning, as investors dumped local stocks ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting this week.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 51.22 points, or 1.81 percent, to 2,783.07 points as of 11:20 a.m.
The key stock index fell below the 2,800-point level amid massive foreign selling, led by losses in chemical and tech companies that are usually more sensitive to borrowing costs.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise its policy interest rate in March. It is set to begin a two-day meeting Tuesday (local time), which is expected to give clues on where the Fed's monetary policy will be headed in the coming weeks.
In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics shed 0.79 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix decreased 1.26 percent.
Internet portal operator Naver moved down 0.9 percent, chemical behemoth LG Chem plunged 4.03 percent, and pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics declined 1.34 percent.
Leading automaker Hyundai Motor retreated 2.25 percent, with financial heavyweight KB Financial Group losing 3.32 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,194.1 won to the U.S. dollar, down 0.1 won from the previous session's close.
jwc@yna.co.kr
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