S. Korean shares slide on rising U.S. Treasury yields

SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korean shares traded lower late Friday morning as investors remained cautious about rising U.S. Treasury yields.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had shed 40.25 points, or 1.57 percent, to 2,528.29 as of 11:20 a.m.

Large caps traded mixed with market kingpin Samsung Electronics slumping 3.41 percent and global chipmaker SK hynix down 2.42 percent.

In contrast, top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.62 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors traded 0.73 percent higher.

POSCO, the No. 1 steelmaker, fell 2.66 percent.

Naver, the operator of the country's top Internet portal, declined 0.65 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,076.10 won against the U.S. dollar, down 4.2 won from the previous session's close.

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