Seoul shares dipped 0.2 percent on Tuesday as Korea Exchange Bank fell on worries regulators would review its approval of the lender's sale to Lone Star, but power provider KEPCO gained after oil prices dropped.
Mobile operator KTF fell after its chief financial officer said margins would weaken this year, while investors also booked profits on recent outperformers such as Hynix after the main index's recent rally.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 0.37 percent to end at 1,436.05 points. The index had risen 4.7 percent over the previous five sessions, recouping most of the ground lost in a recent shakeout, and ending on Monday at its highest close in two weeks.
Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) fell 0.34 percent to 14,600 won on worry regulators will review their approval in 2003 of the lender's sale to US buyout fund Lone Star. KTF Co Ltd fell 0.6 percent to 25,050 won on worries about its 2007 profitability. Hynix Semiconductor Inc fell 2.12 percent to 32,350 won.
POSCO Co Ltd fell 0.26 percent to 383,500 won after earlier in the session hitting its latest record, at 387,500 won. Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) rose 2.53 percent to 38,450 won.