Seoul shares ended lower Friday, tracking losses on Wall Street, as investors await the U.S. Federal Reserve chief's speech for any clues of its rate policy. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 18.54 points, or 0.73 percent, to close at 2,519.14. Trading volume was moderate at 569.76 million shares worth 8.19 trillion won (US$6.2 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 488 to 367.
Institutions and foreigners sold a combined 369 billion won worth of stocks, offsetting individuals' stock selling valued at 381 billion won.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 1.9 percent.
Investors are keeping an eye on the speech Friday (U.S. time) to be delivered by Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The Fed chief is expected to outline whether rates should continue to rise to combat high inflation, analysts said.
"Investors are more keen on Powell's speech in Jackson Hole, despite Nvidia's better-than-expected earnings results," said Cho Hyun-ji, an analyst at DB Financial Investment.
In Seoul, most large-cap stocks were mixed.
Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics fell 1.6 percent to 67,100 won, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix dropped 3.6 percent to 116,500 won, national flag carrier Korean Air Co. shed 0.9 percent to 23,150 won, and top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. was down 0.1 percent to 186,200 won.
Among gainers, leading battery maker LG Energy Solution rose 2.1 percent to 546,000 won, leading cosmetics firm AmorePacific Corp. gained 2.1 percent to 546,000 won, and leading wireless services provider SK Telecom Co. was up 0.1 percent at 47,150 won.
The local currency closed at 1,325.20 won against the U.S. dollar, down 2.6 won from the previous session's close.
Source: Yonhap News Agency