Seoul shares fell 0.7 percent on Tuesday, off a four-week high hit in early trade, as exporters such as Hynix Semiconductor reversed gains on worries that a firm won would dampen overseas shipments.
Concerns about labour unrest and a possible slowdown in Asia's fourth-largest economy amid persistently high oil prices also hit auto makers, with the nation's top car maker, Hyundai Motor Co, dipping 1.76 percent to 78,200 won.
South Korea's central bank cut its economic growth forecast for the second half by 0.2 percentage points to 4.4 percent, spurring more investors to flee to safer assets such as bonds. But shares in Hyundai Elevator Co Ltd rose 15 percent to 83,600 won, after a local newspaper reported Swiss lift maker Schindler Holding Ltd was interested in increasing its stake in the South Korean elevator firm.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 0.67 percent to 1,285.92. It earlier gained as much as 0.9 percent to 1,305.67, the strongest since June 5, when the index hit 1,315.77.
Foreign investors, the main driver behind a selling spree in Asian stock markets in May and June, bought a net 51 billion won ($54.18 million) worth of South Korean shares by 0623 GMT.
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, the world's largest memory chip maker, fell 0.66 percent to 601,000 won. Flat-panel maker LG Philips LCD Co Ltd slid 4.76 percent to 33,000 won. The stock has fallen more than 60 percent since reaching a peak of 91,100 won on January 4, shortly after the company's listing in late December. Decliners outnumbered gainers by 473 to 256 with 86 titles ending flat.
Trade volume reached 189.6 million shares worth 2.46 trillion won, data at 0625 GMT showed, compared to 181 million shares worth 2.6 trillion won on Monday.
Retail investors bought a net 57.7 billion won worth of shares, although institutional investors sold a net 106.7 billion won worth. The September KOSPI 200 futures index retreated 1.25 points to 166.25, while the underlying KOSPI 200 spot index fell 1.18 points to 166.15. South Korea's junior and tech heavy Kosdaq market retreated 0.58 percent to finish at 585.83.
Comments
Comments are closed.