South Korean stocks traded lower Wednesday morning, paring back earlier increases, as investors attempted to cash in recent gains.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 4.22 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,480.15 as of 11:15 a.m.


Market kingpin Samsung Electronics was 0.88 percent down, and SK hynix, a major chipmaker, dipped 3.35 percent.

In contrast, Naver, the country's top Internet portal operator, advanced 5.60 percent, and Hyundai Motor, the No. 1 automaker, surged 2.34 percent.

No.1 steelmaker POSCO traded 0.75 percent higher.

The local currency was trading at 1,129.60 won against the US dollar, up 2.9 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)