After highest point in 11 months, Kospi closes lower

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,577.12 points on Wednesday, down 0.32 percent, or 8.40 points, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

Stocks ended lower Wednesday as investors attempted to cash in recent gains while weighing the odds of the U.S. debt ceiling deal. The won rose against the dollar.

The Kospi shed 8.4 points, or 0.32 percent, to close at 2,577.12, ending its two-day winning streak fueled by an AI chip boom.

The benchmark index touched an 11-month high of 2,596.31 at one point, but lost earlier gains throughout the session to close lower.

Trading volume was moderate at 670.12 million shares worth 14.61 trillion won ($11.01 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 558 to 303.

Offshore and retail investors picked up a net 221.24 billion won and 62.48 billion won worth of shares, respectively, while institutional investors shed a net 287.96 billion won worth of shares.

Overnight, Wall Street closed mixed as the debt ceiling deal reached between U.S. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy went to Congress.

Earlier in the day, North Korea fired what it claimed to be a "space launch vehicle" southward, in another event that might have shaken investor sentiment.

But Pyongyang's rocket carrying a military reconnaissance satellite crashed into the Yellow Sea due to the "abnormal start" of the second-stage engine, according to its official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

In Seoul, large-cap shares finished mixed.

Samsung Electronics shed 1.24 percent to close at 71,400 won, and SK hynix declined 1.54 percent to 108,600 won.

Battery makers LG Energy Solution jumped 3.28 percent to 599,000 won, and Samsung SDI remained flat at 718,000 won.

Posco Holdings lost 0.83 percent to 360,000 won, while Posco Future surged 2.49 percent to 350,000 won.

Hyundai Motor declined 0.25 percent to 200,000 won, and Kia gained 0.35 percent to 85,900 won.

Samsung Biologics climbed 0.77 percent to 784,000 won, while Celltrion dipped 0.58 percent to 171,300 won.

The local currency ended at 1,327.2 won against the dollar, up 2.3 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds lost 10.1 basis points to 3.461 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bonds dropped 11.4 basis points to 3.690 percent.

BY SOHN DONG-JOO, YONHAP [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]