Seoul: Seoul shares ended slightly lower Monday as investors stayed cautious ahead of U.S. inflation data this week and the looming U.S. deadline for imposing higher tariffs on goods imported from China. The Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 3.24 points, or 0.10 percent, to close at 3,206.77. Trade volume was light at 302.01 million shares worth 10.23 trillion won (US$7.3 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 578 to 298.
The KOSPI’s performance contrasted with Wall Street gains on Friday, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.47 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.98 percent. Institutions and individuals sold a net 214.27 billion won and 142.42 billion won worth of stocks, respectively, while foreigners purchased a net 216.86 billion won of stocks.
“The KOSPI remained largely unchanged as traders kept a close watch on key inflation data for clues on the future path of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy,” said Kim Byung-yeon, an analyst at NH Investment and Securities Co. Traders also monitored whether the Aug. 12 deadline for talks on U.S. duties on Chinese imports would be extended, amid threats from U.S. President Donald Trump to impose higher tariffs, citing China’s purchase of Russian oil.
In Seoul, large-cap stocks showed mixed results. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 1.11 percent to 71,000 won, while SK hynix surged 4.09 percent to 267,000 won. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries lost 0.54 percent to 464,000 won, and Hanwha Ocean tumbled 9.09 percent to 107,000 won. Korea Electric Power Corp. shed 1.89 percent to 39,000 won, but POSCO Holdings jumped 3.72 percent to 306,500 won.
Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution gained 2.77 percent to 389,000 won, and Samsung SDI advanced 3.21 percent to 225,000 won. The local currency was quoted at 1,388.00 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., up 1.6 won from the previous session.