Seoul stocks down late Tuesday morning on tech losses

The benchmark KOSPI is displayed at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

Seoul shares turned lower late Tuesday morning, reversing early gains as technology stocks declined amid lingering uncertainty over the Middle East, despite overnight gains on Wall Street.

After opening 1.5 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) traded down 11 points, or 0.18 percent, to 6,246.45 as of 11:20 a.m.

The index plunged by more than 5 percent on Monday after a record 18-percent surge on Friday.

Overnight, U.S. stocks advanced as Amazon.com Inc.'s 4.5 percent gain following strong earnings helped lift companies benefiting from demand for artificial intelligence.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.32 percent to 53,178.41, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite climbed 2.13 percent to 25,913.90.

In Seoul, tech stocks led the decline.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 1.77 percent, and its industry rival SK hynix declined 2.55 percent.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor dropped 2.67 percent and national flag carrier Korean Air declined 0.19 percent.

Among gainers, defense giant Hanwha Aerospace jumped 8.71 percent and Korea Aerospace Industries climbed 10.27 percent.