Seoul: Seoul shares closed lower Thursday, ending a two-day upward trend, as investors offloaded stocks to secure recent gains. The Korean won saw an increase against the U.S. dollar.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 28.69 points, or 0.92 percent, closing at 3,079.56. The trade volume was moderate with 451.12 million shares worth 16.62 trillion won (US$12.2 billion), and the number of declining stocks surpassed gainers 724 to 180.
Foreign investors and institutions sold a total of 843.24 billion won worth of stocks, while individual investors purchased a net 833.55 billion won of stocks. This activity comes amid mixed performances in U.S. stocks overnight, following a ceasefire between Israel and Iran and rising expectations of interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve, influenced by pressure from President Donald Trump.
In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by 0.25 percent, whereas the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite increased by 0.31 percent. In Seoul, large-cap stocks showed mixed results with key players like Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor experiencing declines. Samsung Electronics fell 1.79 percent to 60,200 won, Hyundai Motor declined 3.46 percent to 209,500 won, and LG Energy Solution decreased by 0.34 percent to 297,000 won.
On the other hand, Korea Aerospace Industries and Korea Electric Power Corp. were among the gainers, with Korea Aerospace Industries rising 5.34 percent to 94,700 won and Korea Electric Power Corp. climbing 7.27 percent to 40,600 won. Chip giant SK hynix saw a jump of 2.45 percent to 293,000 won, and Samyang Foods increased by 1.54 percent to 1,319,000 won.
The local currency was trading at 1,356.90 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., up 5.5 won from the previous session. Meanwhile, bond prices closed higher, with the yield on three-year Treasurys falling 0.6 basis point to 2.454 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds declining 2 basis points to 2.599 percent.