Shares edge down on U.S. losses

South Korean stocks edged 0.27 percent down Thursday as investor sentiment was dampened by overnight losses on Wall Street, but the losses were narrowed by better-than-expected corporate earnings of large-cap companies, analysts said. The local currency declined against the U.S. greenback.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 5.32 points to 1,931.65. Trading volume was moderate at 363.9 million shares worth 4.27 trillion won ($4.05 billion), with losers slightly leading gainers 415 to 396.

“Losses in the U.S. stock market erased KOSPI gains in the beginning, and the South Korean stocks remained in negative territory throughout,” said analyst Bae Sung-young from Hyundai Securities Co.

The Dow Industrial Average lost 0.92 percent and tech-focused NASDAQ fell 0.83 percent as a shooting incident in Canada and a drop in oil prices unnerved investors.

“Poor corporate earnings didn’t help in providing rising momentum to continue the previous rally. Investors are reluctant to buy market heavyweight shares of carmakers, chemicals and shipbuilders,” he said, referring to LG Chem, South Korea’s leading chemicals and battery maker, which posted a 34.2 percent plunge in its third-quarter net profit on Wednesday.

However, the analyst said largest automaker Hyundai Motor‘s earnings supported the KOSPI by beating market expectations, even though it posted a 28.3 percent on-year decline in net income.

Shares of Hyundai Motor jumped 5.88 percent to 171,000 won, while its affiliate Kia Motors advanced 2.84 percent to 54,300 won.

Kia Motors is scheduled to release its report on Friday.

LG Display, which logged a 48 percent jump in its third-quarter net, gained 2.8 percent to 33,100 won, while SK hynix lost 1.73 percent to 45,500 won, contrasting with its record-high quarterly profit in the third quarter on strong memory chip sales.

LG Chem slumped 5.41 percent to 183,000 won.

KB Financial Group, the country’s second-biggest banking group by market value, gained 1.56 percent to 39,100 won after its former chief financial officer was named as its new chairman on Wednesday.

The local currency ended at 1,056.1 won against the U.S. dollar, down 4.7 won from Wednesday‘s close. (Yonhap)