Seoul stocks ended lower on Monday, hit by profit-taking after five days of gains, as investors dumped shares in flat screen maker LG Philips LCD on concerns about weak demand amid growing inventories and supply pressure.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed 0.63 percent lower at 805.19, retreating from early gains on optimism over a government stimulus package to revive weak local demand.
South Korea's ruling Uri Party proposed more fiscal spending and a 1-percentage-point cut in income tax for wage earners and the self-employed to end a near 2-year slump in consumption.
"Investors were reassured as the government showed its desire to shore up the economy, but the size of the tax cut was too small and the market appeared to see no near-term improvement in the economy," said Kim Young-min, a fund manager at Dongwon Investment Trust & Management.
Tech shares were among the leading losers.
LG.Philips LCD, the world's second-largest maker of flat screens, fell 5.6 percent to end at 34,600 won, hit by concerns over an uncertain industry outlook.
The concerns overshadowed news LG.Philips shares would be included in the KOSPI 200 basket following their market debut last month. Shares included on the index usually see more active trade due to increased demand.
Shares in LG Electronics Inc also dropped 1.76 percent to 55,800 won while Samsung SDI Co, which specialises in flat screen technology, retreated 2.4 percent to end at 123,000 won.
SK Securities tumbled 14.05 percent to end at 520 won after Seoul Securities, partly owned by billionaire financier George Soros, terminated talks to buy the brokerage.
On an upward slant, shares in chip maker Hynix Semiconductor Inc ended up 2.9 percent at 10,600 won as investors bet the start of a new school year would bolster computer sales and demand for chips.
The shares were also lifted by hopes Hynix would be able to complete the sale of non-core assets to a Citigroup fund for 954 billion won ($828.8 million) in order to focus on its mainstay memory chips, analysts said.
Shares in Kookmin Bank also closed up 0.8 percent at 37,100 won as investors bet recent losses, sparked by news its chief executive was barred from a second stint due to accounting problems at the bank, were overdone.
Losers beat winners by 460 to 251, with 91 names trading unchanged.
Trading volume climbed to 332.5 million shares, versus 307.4 million on Friday, but turnover dropped to 1.4 trillion won from 1.85 trillion.
Foreign investors bought a net 56.2 billion won in shares. Retail investors sold a net 19.3 billion won and institutional investors a net 47.8 billion won in shares.
The junior Kosdaq index closed down 1.2 percent at 353.47.
The September KOSPI 200 futures index slipped 1.05 points to 102.65 and the underlying KOSPI 200 spot index dropped 0.31 point to 103.00.13 point to 103.07.
Comments
Comments are closed.