Seoul: Seoul shares ended lower Monday, snapping their five-session winning streak as investors offloaded tech and other large-cap stocks on profit taking. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 11.06 points, or 0.42 percent, to close at 2,632.07.
According to Yonhap News Agency, trade volume was moderate at 359.99 million shares worth 6.84 trillion won (US$4.7 billion), with decliners outpacing gainers 463 to 401. The KOSPI opened lower, bucking gains on Wall Street on Friday (U.S. time). Retail investors' stock selling largely weighed on the stock market. Institutions and individuals sold a net 3.75 billion won and 77.56 billion won worth of stocks, respectively, exceeding foreign buying valued at 7.46 billion won.
Tech stocks led declines. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 1.94 percent to 60,500 won, and chip giant SK hynix declined 1.86 percent to 211,500 won. Leading steelmaker POSCO Holdings plunged 5.37 percent to 308,500 won, and national flag carrier Korean Air shed 0.45 percent to 22,300 won.
Among gainers, top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 3.9 percent to 213,000 won, and leading battery maker LG Energy Solution rose 0.76 percent to 331,500 won. Leading refiner SK Innovation rose 1.7 percent to 125,500 won, and leading shipping firm HMM was up 2.57 percent to 20,350 won.
The local currency was trading at 1,467.70 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., down 5 won from the previous session. Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, ended lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 0.7 basis point to 2.604 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds added 2.5 basis points to end at 2.687 percent.