South Korean stocks closed almost flat Friday due mainly to the fact investors sat on the sidelines amid weak consumers' sentiment from home and abroad, analysts said.
The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 0.9 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,044.87. Trading volume was low at 240.7 million shares worth 3.37 trillion won (US$3.18 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 402 to 379.
Analysts said Seoul shares lost ground as investors took a wait-and-see approach on the United States' consumer sentiment, which continued to remain stagnant the previous months.
"Seoul shares traded flat as investors were concerned about the stagnant consumers' sentiment in the U.S.," said Kang Hyun-gie, a researcher at I'M Investment & Securities Co. "Foreigners' net buying of local shares also weakened from the previous trading session."
Analysts added that investors also sat on the sidelines ahead of the release of China's Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for November in its manufacturing sector. China is South Korea's No. 1 trading partner.
Foreign investors bought a net 95 billion won worth of Seoul shares on the main bourse. Institutions and individuals, in contrast, offloaded a net 53.3 billion won and 53 billion won, respectively.
Tech shares lost ground, with Samsung Electronics closing unchanged at 1,494,000 won and top chipmaker SK hynix losing 0.14 percent to 35,400 won. Flat panel maker LG Display shed 1.01 percent to 24,400 won.
Shipbuilders also traded bearish, with Hyundai Heavy Industries closing flat at 271,500 won and Samsung Heavy Industries moving down 0.25 percent at 39,200 won. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering declined 0.27 percent to 36,700 won.
Crisis-ridden Tongyang Securities advanced 6 percent to 2,650 won amid the market's rising hope that the firm could be acquired by another company.
Tongyang Securities has been under fire for misleading investors about risks entailed in the financial instruments they were selling, a lot of which had debts issued by its parent firm Tong Yang Group as underlying assets.
Builders also closed higher, with Hyundai Securities advancing 0.8 percent to 62,900 won and Daelim Industrial rising 1.82 percent to 100,500 won. GS Engineering & Construction added 1.68 percent to 30.250 won.
The local currency ended at 1,058.20 won to the U.S. dollar, up 3.30 won from Thursday's close, as exporters offloaded the greenback, dealers said. (Yonhap News)
