South Korean stocks finished lower Monday amid U.S. rate hike woes. The local currency went down against the U.S. dollar.
After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 6.01 points, or 0.24 percent, to finish at 2,520.7, extending its losing streak to the fifth consecutive session.
Trading volume was moderate at 553.1 million shares worth 9.53 trillion won (US$7.29 billion) with decliners outpacing gainers 450 to 428.
Foreigners sold a net 152.9 billion won worth of local equities, with institutions unloading a net 190.6 billion won. Individual investors were net buyers at 312.6 billion won.
All U.S. stock indexes finished lower Friday (U.S. time) after mixed U.S. labor market data opened the door to the Federal Reserve's additional rate hikes.
Investors also await the release of the June consumer price index later this week, a key indicator of the Fed's future rate hike path.
The U.S. central bank is widely expected to resume monetary tightening next month after pausing its rate hike campaign after 10 consecutive rate increases last month.
In Seoul, most big-cap shares on the KOSPI ended in negative terrain.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics declined 0.57 percent to close at 69,500 won, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix lost 1.34 percent to 110,300 won. Leading chemical producer nnnnnnnn LG Chem went down 0.3 percent to 654,000 won.
Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution lost 2.14 percent to 550,000 won, and its smaller rival Samsung SDI slid 1.72 percent to 685,000 won.
Top automaker Hyundai Motor gained 0.74 percent to 205,500 won, while its sister company Kia retreated 0.46 percent to 87,500 won.
POSCO Holdings, the country's top steelmaker, went down 0.75 percent to 397,000 won, while POSCO Future M, POSCO's industrial materials unit, surged 2.38 percent to 408,000 won.
The local currency ended at 1,306.5 won against the U.S. dollar, down 1.5 won from the previous session's close.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 6.0 basis points to 3.795 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds gained 7.7 basis points to 3.810 percent.
Source: Yonhap News Agency