Shares down 0.67% on eurozone concerns

South Korean stocks closed 0.67 percent lower on Monday as investor sentiment remained chilled amid uncertainties over Spain’s bailout and dashed hopes for the upcoming earnings season, analysts said Monday. The local currency slipped against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 13.28 points to 1,981.89. Trading volume was moderate at 499.4 million shares worth 4.49 trillion won ($4.04 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 533 to 300.

“Uncertainties over Spain’s bailout are keeping investors jittery despite signs of a recovery in the U.S. economy,” said Eom Tae-woong, an analyst at Bookook Securities Co.

“While U.S. job and manufacturing data are slowly recovering, concerns over lingering eurozone issues and weak expectations for the third-quarter earnings season are weighing on the KOSPI,” Eom said.

Autos led the decline. Top player Hyundai Motor fell 1.86 percent to 238,000 won and smaller affiliate Kia Motors lost 1.26 percent to 70,800 won.

Leading steelmaker POSCO also took a blow from worries over third-quarter business results after a Kyobo Securities Co. report estimated the company’s operating income would slump 18.9 percent on-year due to weak steel prices. POSCO slid 2.19 percent to 357,000 won.

Techs closed mixed. No. 2 display maker LG Display fell 2.05 percent to 26,300 won, but market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 0.58 percent to 1,378,000 won. SK hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker, also added 1.94 percent to 23,700 won. (Yonhap News)