South Korean stocks ended slightly lower Thursday as foreign investors and institutions sold off local stocks. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 8.10 points, or 0.37 percent, to 2,152.75.
Institutions remained net sellers of local stocks, selling more than 119 billion won ($105 million), and foreigners sold a net 95 billion won worth of stocks.
Bae Sung-young, a market analyst at KB Securities Co., said foreigners offloaded South Korean stocks in line with stock correction in the US. He said a weaker won made foreign investors sell local stocks.
Most large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.
SK Telecom, the No. 1 mobile carrier in the country, gained 1.19 percent to 256,000 won, and Shinhan Financial Group was up 0.85 percent to 47,700 won.
Meanwhile, market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 0.71 percent to 2,092,000 won, and the state-run utility firm Korea Electric Power Corp. was down 0.98 percent to 45,650 won.
The local currency closed at 1,133.20 won against the US dollar, down 8.80 won from the previous session's close.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 2.5 basis points to 1.679 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds gained 3.6 basis points to 1.860 percent. (Yonhap)
