SEOUL, Aug. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korean shares pared earlier gains late Monday morning as foreign investors continued to sell big-cap tech shares despite bargain hunting by retail and institutional investors.

After opening 0.76 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 25.15 points, or 0.4 percent, at 6,283.92 as of as of 11:20 a.m.

Foreign investors sold nearly 619.7 billion won (US$437.8 million), offsetting a combined 598.2 billion won worth of buying by retail and institutional investors.

The KOSPI ended lower for a second straight session Friday, weighed down by foreign selling.

On Friday (local time), Wall Street advanced, following U.S. job reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.28 percent, while the S&P 500 added 0.62 percent to a fresh record. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index increased 1.3 percent.

Korean technology stocks remained the bulwark of the market.

After opening higher, market bellwether Samsung Electronics inched down 0.11 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix climbed 0.84 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,414.8 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., down 5.3 won from the previous session's close.

khj@yna.co.kr

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