According to Yonhap, South Korean stocks turned lower late Monday morning as major chip shares declined despite eased Middle East tensions. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 55.63 points, or 0.83 percent, to 6,634.99 as of 11:20 a.m. after opening 1.73 percent higher.

Foreign investors sold nearly 1.7 trillion won, outweighing a combined 1.6 trillion won in buying by retail and institutional investors. Samsung Electronics slipped 0.6 percent and SK hynix lost 0.8 percent, while Samsung Electro-Mechanics fell 1.06 percent and SK Square sank 5.59 percent. SK innovation dropped 9.15 percent and Hanwha Aerospace retreated 8.17 percent. The won was trading at 1,468.1 to the U.S. dollar, down 9.6 won from the previous session.