Profit-taking ends Seoul stocks’ record week
The benchmark Kospi closed at 2,546.36 Thursday, down 10.11 points, or 0.40 percent, compared to the previous trading day.
The index had soared 1.31 percent Wednesday to close at a new record of 2,556.47 points, aided by gains in Samsung and other tech stocks.
“Chipmakers and Apple-related stocks, which have been enjoying sharp gains, remained dull in the U.S. market,” said Seo Sang-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities Co. “This factor prodded investors to seek after profit in the South Korean market as well.”
Institutional investors and foreign investors were net sellers, each offloading 194.9 billion won ($174.98 million) and 2.2 billion won in local shares. Retail investors scooped up 155.3 billion won in shares.
Large cap shares were in negative terrain across the board.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics closed at 2,853,000 won on Thursday, down 0.28 percent from the previous trading day.
SK Hynix, second-leading chipmaker in Korea, went down 2.23 percent to 83,400 won.
Portal giant Naver pushed down 0.47 percent to 856,000 won. Steelmaker Posco nudged down 0.31 percent to 323,000 won. SK Innovation, Korea’s top oil refiner, slipped 1.45 percent to 204,500 won.
Movements of auto companies were mixed.
Top auto company Hyundai Motor inched down 0.31 percent to 160,000 won. Sister company Kia Motors edged down 0.57 percent to 35,150 won. Affiliate and auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis, on the other hand, rose 0.38 percent to 266,000 won.
LG Chem, the top battery maker, pushed up 1.33 percent to 420,000 won. Leading mobile game publisher Netmarble Games jumped 3.20 percent to 177,500 won. Cosmetic giant AmorePacific also went up 2.28 percent to 314,500 won. KB Financial Group, the largest financial holding group in Korea by asset, inched up 0.17 percent to 59,100 won.
The secondary Kosdaq also fell slightly on Thursday, down 0.81 points, or 0.12 percent, to 694.96.
Bond prices closed higher. The yield on three-year bonds shed 1.4 basis points to 2.126 percent and the return on benchmark five-year government bonds fell 2.2 basis points to 2.350 percent.
BY CHOI HYUNG-JO, YONHAP [choi.hyungjo@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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