Seoul shares ended down 2.4 percent on Tuesday, hit by worries about nuclear radiation leaks in Japan, but off an earlier loss of as much as 4.5 percent as refining and alternative energy issues outperformed. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished down 47.31 points at 1,923.92, managing to contain falls despite the Nikkei's 10.55 percent drop.
The KOSPI 200 June futures index finished down 6.8 points at 254.90. The KOSPI 200 spot index fell 6.40 points to 254.29. The junior Kosdaq market ended down 2.7 percent at 489.44. News Japan warned that radioactive levels had become "significantly" higher around a quake-stricken nuclear power plant on Tuesday after explosions at two reactors, sending the market to as low as 1,882.09 points.
Foreign investors offloaded a net 233.1 billion won ($207.4 million) worth of stocks. Major blue chips lost ground. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd , the world's No 1 memory chip maker, fell 4.4 percent. POSCO , the world's No 3 steelmaker, declined 3.5 percent. Nuclear power issues also tumbled, with plant designer KEPCO Engineering & Construction declining 12.7 percent, and KR Plant Service & Engineering Co Ltd shedding 7.9 percent.
Refiners continued to outperform as the shutdown of refineries in Japan pointed to tighter supply and better pricing. SK Innovation , the country's No 1 crude oil refiner, ended flat, while S-Oil Corp , the No 3, edged down 0.7 percent.
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