Seoul: South Korean stocks traded lower late Monday morning, led by big-cap tech losses, as investors moved to take profits from recent sharp gains. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had fallen 13.19 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,631.21 as of 11:20 a.m. The index opened lower and had remained in negative terrain on selling by institutional and foreign investors.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the index rose more than 2 percent Monday, driven by gains in large-cap chip and battery shares, after U.S. President Donald Trump extended the deadline for imposing aggressive tariffs on the European Union. However, concerns linger over the U.S. tariff policies, as Trump threatened to roll out 25 percent tariffs by the end of next month on smartphones made by Apple, Samsung Electronics Co., and other companies if they are not manufactured in the United States.

Most big-cap tech shares lost ground. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 1.28 percent, and chip giant SK hynix shed 0.12 percent. Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution sank 2.88 percent, and industry leader LG Chem nosedived 2.61 percent. No. 1 steelmaker POSCO Holdings dipped 1.45 percent.

Major bio firm Samsung Biologics slid 0.86 percent, and leading financial firm KB Financial went down 1.13 percent. Top automaker Hyundai Motor decreased 0.6 percent, and its sister affiliate Kia edged up 0.11 percent. Top online portal operator Naver declined 2.5 percent.

In contrast, defense giant Hanwha Aerospace soared 6 percent, and major biopharmaceutical Celltrion added 0.72 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,367.45 won against the U.S. dollar at 11:20 a.m., up 3.05 won from the previous session.