Kospi ends 0.26% down on trepidation over U.S. employment data

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,676.63 points on Friday, down 0.26 percent, or 7.02 points, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Shares closed slightly lower on Friday as investors held back ahead of U.S. employment data. The local currency rebounded against dollar.

The Kospi shed 7.02 points, or 0.26 percent, to close at 2,676.63.

Trading volume was slim at 329.8 million shares worth 7.7 trillion won ($5.65 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 477 to 390.

The index opened higher, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street that followed dovish remarks from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggesting a possible rate cut down the road.

After choppy trading, the Kospi closed lower for a second consecutive session.

"Recent advance data on the U.S. job market indicated a slowdown in the second quarter," SK Securities analyst Yoon Won-tae said. "The U.S. Fed and the market's focus will shift to employment from inflation should the employment data to be released tonight fall short of market expectations."

"The key point is whether the data can send a signal that expands hope for a rate cut," Yoon added.

Foreign investors net purchased 88.8 billion won worth of local shares, extending their buying spree to a fifth consecutive session. Retail investors and institutions dumped 116.2 billion won and 8.1 billion won, respectively.

Large caps closed mixed.

Samsung Electronics lost 0.51 percent to 77,600 won, while SK hynix retreated 0.23 percent to 173,200 won.

LG Energy Solution gained 0.51 percent to 391,000 won, with Samsung SDS advancing 0.25 percent to 158,800 won.

Both Hyundai Motor and Kia slipped, dropping 3.21 percent to 241,000 won and 4.77 percent to 113,900 won, respectively.

Financial shares were among the lead gainers, with KB Financial jumping 1.94 percent to 73,700 won and Shinhan Financial up 1.42 percent to 46,450 won.

The local currency closed at 1,362.80 won against the greenback, down 13.10 won from the previous session's close.

The Kosdaq lost 1.89 points, or 0.22 percent, to close at 865.59.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds fell 0.9 basis points to 3.499 percent, and the return on benchmark U.S. 10-year government bonds dropped 5.5 basis points to 4.58 percent.

BY CHOI HAE-JIN, YONHAP [choi.haejin@joongang.co.kr]