South Korean shares lost ground late Wednesday morning, as investors remained on the sidelines ahead of U.S. tech giant Nvidia’s closely watched earnings announcement.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slipped 10.82 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,678.43 as of 11:20 a.m.

Tech stocks lost ground overall, as investors waited for the imminent earnings result of U.S. chip giant Nvidia.

Samsung Electronics and chip rival SK hynix shed 0.13 and 0.8 percent, respectively.

Energy shares also retreated, with leading refiner SK Innovation down 2.73 percent and S-Oil also falling 1.72 percent. Automakers also declined, with Hyundai Motor losing 0.2 percent.

In contrast, bio shares advanced, with Samsung Biologics and Celltrion rising 2.88 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.

The local currency was trading at 1,335.65 won against the U.S. dollar, down 4.65 won from the previous session.

Source: Yonhap News Agency