SEOUL, Aug. 19 (Yonhap) -- Seoul shares traded more than 5 percent lower late Wednesday morning as investors dumped technology shares amid rising bond yields and continued geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

After opening 4.96 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) extended its losses, declining 378.03 points, or 5.5 percent, to 6,491.8 as of 11:20 a.m.

Shortly after the opening bell, program trading for the KOSPI-listed shares was suspended for five minutes, as the Korea Exchange (KRX) activated a sell-side sidecar.

A sell-side sidecar is triggered when the KOSPI 200 Futures Index falls 5 percent or more for at least one minute.

Overnight, Wall Street's major indexes closed lower, as stalled peace efforts between the United States and Iran weighed on investor sentiment and pushed oil prices higher.

The U.S. 30-year Treasury yield rose to its highest level since 2007 amid concerns that elevated energy prices could keep inflation high.

In Seoul, chipmakers dragged down the broader market.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics dipped 7.08 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix fell 8.36 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor lost 5.17 percent, while leading refiner SK Innovation edged down 0.76 percent.

Hanwha Aerospace rose 2.97 percent following an announcement its U.S. unit had won a contract to deliver K9 self-propelled howitzer prototypes to the U.S. Army.

The Korean won was trading at 1,406.3 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., up 0.27 won from the previous stock trading session's close.

ejkim@yna.co.kr

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