Shares down 0.78% as global woes nag

South Korean stocks closed 0.78 percent lower on Thursday as investors remained antsy about China’s slowing growth and lingering issues in the eurozone, analysts said.

The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 15.13 points to 1,933.09. Trading volume was moderate at 456.7 million shares worth 4.61 trillion won ($4.14 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 479 to 342.

“Continued concerns on the fate of the global economy are weighing on the KOSPI, especially with global organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank revising growth outlooks,” said Park Sung-hoon, an analyst at Woori Investment & Securities Co.

Earlier in the day, the Bank of Korea also slashed its 2012 economic growth estimate by a larger-than-expected margin to 2.4 percent as exports are feared to cool amid a global economic slowdown.

Investor concerns over Spain also worsened following Standard & Poor’s two-notch credit downgrade on the eurozone country.

Large caps lost ground across the board, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics slumping 1.58 percent to 1,304,000 won.

Shares of key automakers also tumbled despite rosy outlooks for record sales in the fourth quarter. Hyundai Motor lost 1.69 percent to 233,000 won and Kia Motors sank 1.14 percent to 69,500 won.

In contrast, domestic-focused companies closed higher. Top portal operator NHN jumped 2.03 percent to 277,000 won and retail giant Lotte Shopping gained 2.78 percent to 333,000 won.

Korea Electric Power Corp. also closed up 0.95 percent at 26,450 won, stemming a recent two-session loss. The state-run power company slumped around 2.7 percent on both days amid a block sale.

The local currency ended at 1,114.3 won against the greenback, up 0.3 won from Thursday’s close as anticipations for further rate cuts fizzled out after the central bank’s 0.25 percentage point cut earlier in the day.

As widely expected, Bank of Korea Gov. Kim Choong-soo and his six fellow policymakers lowered the benchmark 7-day repo rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.75 percent for October, dealers said. (Yonhap News)