Seoul shares end flat on Tuesday, losing momentum after hitting earlier a fourth consecutive record high, as investors booked profits in outperformers such as Daewoo Securities.
Foreign investors sold a net 180.8 billion won ($195 million), according to Korea Exchange data at 0629 GMT, marking their ninth session of net sales in ten, which some analysts are attributing to profit-taking given that the main KOSPI has gained some 26 percent so far this year.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 0.05 percent, just scraping to a record close of 1,807.85 points, after touching 1,813.84, its fourth intraday record in as many sessions.
But optimism still abounds after the benchmark index rose above 1,800 points for the first time on Monday, having set records since April on the back of signs of an economic recovery at home and a rally in global markets.
Daewoo Securities fell 4.76 percent to 34,050 won after hitting early in the session its highest since July 1999. Shares in South Korea's most valuable brokerage had surged 31.9 percent over the previous five sessions. Automaker Hyundai Motor Co fell 2.94 percent to 72,200 won, marking its first fall in four sessions.
South Korean prosecutors on Tuesday sought a six-year jail term for Hyundai Motor Group's chairman for embezzlement at a court hearing of his appeal against a three-year sentence handed down in February.
Airline stocks declined after a surge in oil prices overnight on worries about supply interruptions in Nigeria and Brazil raised worries about higher fuel costs. Korean Air Co fell 1.75 percent to 56,000 won after hitting a record 59,000 won on Monday.
But Hyundai Heavy Industries Co rose 5.23 percent to a record 342,000 won after Korea Investment and Securities raised its share target price to 500,000 won from 355,000 won, saying strong demand for vessels would drive ship prices higher. Shortly after the close Hyundai Heavy announced a $924 million order to build eight container ships for an unidentified European company.