Seoul: South Korean stocks closed lower Thursday, ending a six-day record-setting rally, as investors sought to cash in recent gains amid renewed concerns over global trade tensions. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar. After a choppy session, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) decreased 38.12 points, or 0.98 percent, to close at 3,845.56.
According to Yonhap News Agency, trade volume was moderate at 418.6 million shares worth 16 trillion won (US$11.1 billion), with losers beating winners 608 to 259. Institutions and foreign investors sold 397.3 billion won and 407.2 billion won worth of shares, respectively, while retail investors bought a net 747.5 billion won.
All three major U.S. stock indexes extended their losses Wednesday (local time) following disappointing earnings reports. The S and P 500 sank 0.5 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 334 points, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.9 percent.
On Thursday, the KOSPI opened lower amid renewed uncertainty over trade talks between the United States and China. It had briefly climbed above the 3,900 mark before retreating as institutional and foreign investors turned net sellers. "Ahead of next week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, expectations for negotiations and ongoing political uncertainty led to increased market volatility," Lee Kyung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said. Lee added that U.S. President Donald Trump expressing doubt about his planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit here also weighed on the index.
Most market heavyweights ended lower. Semiconductor stocks took a breather following recent rallies. Chip giant Samsung Electronics went down 2.13 percent to 96,500 won, and rival SK hynix lost 0.62 percent to 478,500 won. Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution decreased 1.54 percent to 447,700 won.
Bio shares were also decliners, with local industry leader Samsung Biologics falling 0.94 percent to 1,162,000 won. Auto shares also closed in negative terrain, with top carmaker Hyundai Motor falling 3.45 percent to 252,000 won, and its smaller affiliate Kia slipping 2.62 percent to 115,000 won. Among heavyweights, only defense giant Hanwha Aerospace closed higher, jumping 4.17 percent to 1,049,000 won.
The Korean won was quoted at 1,439.95 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., down 10.15 won from the previous session. Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys went up 3.3 basis points to 2.605 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds increased 3.4 basis points to 2.721 percent.