Kospi opens over 1% lower on tech losses

Seoul shares opened lower Tuesday, bucking overnight gains on Wall Street, on profit-taking after Samsung Electronics released its preliminary second-quarter earnings estimate.

The Kospi fell 130.85 points, or 1.6 percent, to 7,920.48 at the opening bell.

Local technology stocks fell on profit-taking after Samsung Electronics estimated its April to June operating profit at 89.4 trillion won ($58.4 billion), beating market forecasts.

The estimate reflects provisions for employee bonuses. Excluding the provisions, operating profit is estimated at around 100 trillion won.

Samsung Electronics lost 3.9 percent, while SK hynix declined 1.2 percent ahead of its planned $29 billion U.S. listing later this week.

Yonhap