Seoul shares closed lower after trading in a tight range on Tuesday amid persistent concerns the global economic recovery has tapered off, which weighed on tech issues such as Samung Electronics. Fluctuating between small gains and losses, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished down 0.41 percent at 1,760.53 points.
Institutions dumped 84.76 billion won ($71.73 million) worth of stocks. However, foreign investors were buyers for a fifth consecutive session, picking up a net 86.14 billion won worth. Decliners outnumbered gainers 503 to 291 and 99 issues remained flat.
Samsung Electronics was down 0.89 percent and LG Electronics shed 0.29 percent. The KOSPI 200 September futures index ended down 1.5 points at 229.5, and the KOSPI 200 spot index fell 0.78 points to 229.42. The junior Kosdaq market ended 0.45 percent lower at 474.97.