Seoul shares ended lower on Monday as banks and technology issues including KB Financial Group Inc and Hynix Semiconductor Inc weighed, with lacklustre US jobs data denting investor sentiment. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished down 0.26 percent at 2,080.81 points. The KOSPI 200 March futures index fell 1.9 points to 275.35 points.
The KOSPI 200 spot index slipped 1.62 points to 273.99. The junior Kosdaq index gained 0.59 percent to 533.98. "At the index's current level, the appetite to lock in gain was ripe, and disappointing US data accelerated the move," said Mirae Asset Securities market analyst Chung Seung-jae.
US employers hired fewer workers than expected in December and a surprisingly large number of people gave up searching for work, tempering the positive news of a big drop in the unemployment rate. "Caution is mounting ahead of earnings season, especially since last week's guidance numbers from Samsung Electronics Co Ltd were disappointing," said SK Securities market analyst Kim Young-june.
Foreign investors were sellers of a net 227.5 billion won ($203.4 million) worth of stocks, offloading shares for a second session. Falls in banks weighed, with KB Financial Group down 2 percent and Shinhan Financial Group Co Ltd off 2.5 percent. "Some shares are taking a bit of breather following recent firm gains," said Kyobo Securities analyst Hwang Seok-kyu. Auto issues outperformed, with Kia Motors Corp advancing 2.4 percent.