U.S. inflation spooks investors and Kospi suffers

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,962.09 points on Thursday, down 10.39 points, or 0.35 percent, from the previous trading day. [NEWS1]

Stocks retreated after a two-day rise Thursday as investors worried that rising inflation in the United States could hasten the Federal Reserve's tapering moves. The won rose against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi fell 10.39 points, or 0.35 percent, to close at 2,962.09 points.

Trading volume was moderate at about 597 million shares worth some 11.3 trillion won ($9.5 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 449 to 412.

Institutions sold a net 304 billion won and retail investors offloaded 91 billion won, while foreigners bought 373 billion won.

Stocks got off to a muted start as the U.S. consumer price index increased 7 percent in December, the highest on-year jump in almost four decades.

Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite inched up 0.23 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.11 percent.

The Seoul stock market increasingly lost ground in the afternoon, joining other Asian stock markets.

"The latest keyword in the market is the pace of the Fed's tapering and rate hikes," Eugene Investment & Securities analyst Huh Jae-hwan said.

"Investors are not buying into a radical pace of tapering, but the high inflation rates will need some time to cool. Stocks lacked momentum for additional gains," he said.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics lost 1.27 percent to 77,900 won, while chipmaker SK hynix added 0.78 percent to 129,500 won.

LG Electronics surged 6.2 percent to 145,500 won after reports that it will supply an infotainment system to Mercedes-Benz's EQS model.

Internet portal operator Naver moved up 0.72 percent to 348,000 won.

Among losers, carmaker Hyundai Motor dropped 0.71 percent to 210,000 won, and electric car battery maker LG Chem declined 2.33 percent to 755,000 won.

The local currency closed at 1,187.5 won against the U.S. dollar, down 3 won from the previous session's close.

The Kosdaq lost 8.08 points, or 0.82 percent, to close at 983.25.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds declined 4.8 basis points to 1.952 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond rose 0.5 basis point to 1.74 percent.

BY SHIN HA-NEE, YONHAP [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]