Seoul shares slipped on Thursday weighed by falls in auto and technology exporters, with Samsung Electronics retreating after first quarter earnings estimates that came below the market consensus. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index ended down 0.21 percent at 2,122.14 points, but still near an all-time-high of 2,136.29 touched in the previous session.
The KOSPI 200 June futures fell 1.45 points to 281.95 and the KOSPI 200 spot index shed 0.9 points to 280.45. The junior Kosdaq market ended up 0.19 percent at 534.97. Foreign buying, while continuing for a 17th consecutive session, weakened significantly to 60.6 billion Korean won ($55.8 mln), compared to 520 billion won in the previous session.
Lee added selling was concentrated around blue chip exporters, which foreign investors had purchased heavily. Samsung Electronics finished down 1.5 percent after the world's top maker of memory chips and flat screens forecast January-March operating profit fell 34 percent to its lowest in nearly two years, hit by prices for flat screens and weak demand for televisions.
The memory chip sector would lead an earnings recovery for Samsung Electronics, but the market was more cautious on finished products such as mobile handsets, tablet PCs and televisions, analysts said. "Smartphones and tablet PCs are struggling because of competition from Apple Inc, and television demand is also slow," Lee added.