Seoul shares closed 2.3 percent lower on Thursday, recovering slightly from losses of over 4 percent in the session, after US shares dived on persistent financial fears and sent Asian indexes sharply lower. The slide came despite the announcement on Thursday that South Korea had been upgraded to "developed market" status by the FTSE Group.
Financials such as Kookmin Bank led falls, with South Korea's top commercial lender losing 7.12 percent and Shinhan Financial Group shedding 6.24 percent. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 1,392.42 points, after falling to as low as 1,366.88 percent in the session.
Foreign investors were net sellers of 523 billion won ($456.4 million) worth of shares listed on the main board. Decliners outnumbered advancers by 704 to 147, with 45 titles ending flat. Trade volume stood at 401.5 million shares worth 5.5 trillion won, compared with 390 million shares worth 5.7 trillion won on Wednesday.