Seoul shares fell on Tuesday after weak imports by China stoked worries about deteriorating domestic demand in the world's second largest economy, broadening concerns about flagging global growth. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 0.36 percent to close at 1,829.45 points.
"The only source of positive momentum for now could only come from hints of additional easing from the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting, but China's GDP data remains the main point of inflection for the market this week," said Kim Seung-han, an analyst at HI Investment & Securities.
Curbed risk appetites saw foreign investors dumping local shares for a second-straight day, as offshore players disposed of a net 114.4 billion won ($100.2 million) worth of equities on Tuesday.
Growth-sensitive cyclical stocks underperformed, most notably petrochemicals, with Samsung Fine Chemicals falling 2.3 percent while LG Chem shed 2 percent.
Trading was choppy, with 3.3 trillion won worth of shares exchanging hands on the main bourse, the thinnest daily volume recorded so far in July.
After staging a short relief rally coming out of a surprise EU summit agreement last week, the benchmark KOSPI index has retreated 1.6 percent.