South Korean stocks traded slightly lower Thursday morning as foreign investors are set to extend their selling to a fifth straight day.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 7.88 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,364.40 as of 11:15 a.m.

Market heavyweights traded mixed, with market kingpin Samsung Electronics up 0.48 percent.

SK hynix, a major chipmaker, rose 0.15 percent, and POSCO, the No. 1 steelmaker, gained 1.93 percent.


In contrast, Naver, the country's top Internet portal operator, backtracked 2.33 percent, while Hyundai Motor, the No. 1 automaker, dropped 1.40 percent on concerns that its sales in China may face a protracted slump over a diplomatic row over the deployment of a US missile defense system here.

LG Chem, the country's top chemical firm, lost 0.13 percent, and SK Innovation, the leading oil refiner, advanced 0.54 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,124.80 won against the US dollar, down 0.6 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)