South Korean stocks closed 0.92 percent lower on Monday as investors sat on the sidelines due to economic risks from the eurozone and the United States, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 18.32 points to 1968.18. Trading volume was low at 265.2 million shares worth 3.83 trillion won ($3.44 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 565 to 258.
“The decline came as the financial crisis of Cyprus weighed down on investors sentiment as the risk is feared to spill over to the rest of the eurozone,” said Kang Hyun-gie, a researcher at I’M Investment & Securities Co.
The International Monetary Fund and the eurozone countries agreed on Saturday to provide a bailout worth 10 billion euros ($13.1 billion) to Cyprus in a bid to prevent the country from going bankrupt.
“Investors were also unnerved by lower-than-expected U.S. consumer sentiment in March, which came as a consequence of the country’s automatic spending cuts,” Kang added.
Foreigners offloaded a net 364.5 billion won worth of local shares. In contrast, institutions scooped up a net 157.6 billion won and retail investors purchased a net 204.7 billion won.
Market behemoth Samsung Electronics shed 2.36 percent to 1,445,000 won, falling for the third consecutive session, despite launching the Galaxy S4 model in the U.S. on Thursday.
LG Chem, South Korea’s leading battery maker, declined 1.65 percent to 268,500 won, falling for the sixth consecutive trading session as foreign investors continued to offload its shares.
Logistics shares lost ground, with Hyundai Glovis decreasing 4.52 percent to 190,000 won and Hyundai Merchant Marine sliding 3.29 percent to 14,700 won. (Yonhap News)
