Seoul shares inched down Tuesday as investors largely stayed on the sidelines to await a global gathering of central bankers late this week for clues about further stimulus plans. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 0.08 percent to close at 1,916.33 points. This month, the index has gained 1.8 percent.
Analysts said the main board is expected to keep treading water before US Federal Chairman Ben Bernanke meets with central bankers at Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Friday. Kim Ji-hyung, an analyst at Hanyang Securities, said he expects the market to trade in a narrow band this week and perhaps rise next week, depending on what unfolds in Wyoming.
Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics was up 1.27 percent, after Monday's 7.5 percent tumble following a US patent ruling favouring rival Apple Inc. The Monday plunge cut the company's market capitalisation by $12 billion. On Tuesday, many Samsung group shares that also fell the previous day rebounded, with Samsung Electro-Mechanics up 2.46 percent while Samsung SDI rose 0.35 percent.
Meanwhile, local Apple suppliers which had gains on Monday lost ground, with LG Display falling 0.37 percent and LG Innotek sliding 0.75 percent. Foreign investors were net sellers of 139.4 billion won ($123 million) of KOSPI shares, while local institutional investors sold a net 8.4 billion won. Decliners slightly outnumbered gainers 410 to 394, while the KOSPI 200 benchmark of core stocks fell 0.08 percent. The junior, small-cap heavy KOSDAQ climbed 1.15 percent.