Seoul: Seoul shares closed lower Friday as investors offloaded defense and other major stocks on profit-taking amid lingering concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump's import tariffs. The Korean won also fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 17.67 points, or 0.55 percent, to close at 3,210.01, although the main index rose 2.9 percent this week.
According to Yonhap News Agency, trade volume was moderate at 334.19 million shares worth 11.2 trillion won (US$8.06 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 487 to 384. Overnight, U.S. stocks ended mixed with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.51 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.35 percent.
In Seoul, institutions and foreign investors sold a net 131.9 billion won and 157.2 billion won worth of stocks, respectively, while individual investors bought a net 183 billion won. Hwang Jun-ho, an analyst at Sangsangin Investment and Securities Co., noted that investors dumped some defense stocks on profit-taking amid expectations that the planned U.S.-Russia summit next week may bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Defense industry stocks led the KOSPI's decline. Hanwha Aerospace Industries plunged 5.47 percent to 881,000 won, Hyundai Rotem fell 4.87 percent to 183,500 won, and LIG Nex1 tumbled 14.9 percent to 513,000 won. Other notable decliners included chipmaker SK hynix, which dropped 2.1 percent to 256,500 won, and leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, which shed 1.79 percent to 466,500 won.
In contrast, market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 1.84 percent to 71,800 won, and Hanwha Ocean, the shipbuilding unit of Hanwha Group, climbed 0.6 percent to 117,700 won. Samsung Electronics extended gains for a second straight session on news that the company will manufacture Apple Inc.'s next-generation processor at its foundry in Austin, Texas. Additionally, KT and G, the country's dominant tobacco company, jumped 6.28 percent to 147,200 won.
The local currency was quoted at 1,389.60 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 8.4 won from the previous session. Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 0.1 basis point to 2.409 percent, while the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds climbed 0.3 basis point to 2.554 percent.