The KOSPI index was down 34.71 points, or 0.5%, at 6,936.64 Korean won as of 9:04 a.m. on the 2nd, after the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield reached a 24-year intraday high of 5.34%. Foreign and institutional investors were net sellers of 140.7 billion Korean won and 34.5 billion Korean won, respectively, while individual and other corporate investors bought 152.5 billion Korean won and 22.8 billion Korean won. Most large-cap stocks, including Samsung Electronics, declined. The 10-year yield later closed at 5.234%, down 59 basis points from the previous day and marking its first fall in seven trading days, after remarks from Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair Philip Jefferson reduced expectations of near-term additional rate hikes. U.S. stocks closed higher overnight, while the KOSDAQ rose 0.4% to 897.89, with EcoPro and Jusung Engineering each gaining 2%.