Seoul shares slipped after touching an all-time high on Wednesday, fuelled by firm gains in Hyundai Motor Co and steelmakers such as POSCO, but falls in refiners and banking plays weighed. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ended down 0.12 percent at 2,082.55 points. The KOSPI 200 March futures index lost 0.05 points to 276.65. The KOSPI 200 spot index went up 0.43 points to 275.35.
The junior Kosdaq market gained 0.47 percent to 523.81. Foreign investors were buyers of a net 123.6 billion won ($109.8 million), picking up shares for a third consecutive session. Crude oil refiners lost ground on falls in crude oil prices, and following their substantial gains in recent sessions.
Shares in S-Oil fell 4.2 percent and SK Energy lost 3.5 percent. Samsung Engineering Co Ltd outperformed and rose 0.3 percent after the company said it had won a 304.4 billion won ($270.3 million) order to build a thermal power plant in Mexico. Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co Ltd jumped nearly 6.7 percent after a court on Tuesday cleared the way for the automaker to purchase a stake in South Korea's top builder. Hyundai Motor shares also spiked 6.2 percent. South Korean banks pared back on recent gains, weighed by news that the financial watchdog planned to inspect loan quality at local banks in January, analysts said. A Financial Supervisory Service official told Reuters that the probe, also held last year.