South Korean stocks finished 1.06 percent lower Monday as institutional investors reduced shares in banks and manufacturers after their gains last week, analysts said.
The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.
Snapping a three-day winning streak, the benchmark KOSPI lost 20.45 points to 1,909.03.
Trading volume was moderate at 387 million shares worth 6.3 trillion won ($5.71 billion) with losers leading gainers 535 to 291.
“Investors locked in profit after short-term surges,” said Lee Jae-man, an analyst at Tong Yang Securities Inc. “Foreign investors didn’t switch to a selling position, so it is hard to say that the KOSPI fell due to any macroeconomic risk.”
The KOSPI added 35.17 points in the last three sessions, wrapping up last week 4.96 percent higher from one week ago.
Local institutions sold a net 260 billion won worth of shares during the day, mostly in the manufacturing and financial sectors.
Foreign investors added a net 127.1 billion won.
Banks and financial companies lost ground after their surges last week. KB Financial Group, the parent of top lender Kookmin Bank, slumped 3.56 percent to 43,400 won and the industry’s No. 4 player Hana Financial Group sank 3.58 percent to 40,350 won.
Hyundai Mobis, the biggest auto parts maker, tumbled 6.1 percent to 323,000 won on worries about its fourth quarter earnings.
Commodity producers ended in negative territory as the U.S. dollar spiked against the Japanese yen. Korea Zinc, the world’s second-biggest zinc smelter, dropped 6 percent to 329,000 won.
But Samsung Electronics climbed 2.43 percent to 968,000 won after giving an upbeat guidance for the fourth quarter last week.
The company dethroned Apple and became the world’s largest smartphone supplier in the third quarter.
The local currency closed at 1,110 won to the greenback, down 5.1 won from Friday’s close, as the latest depreciation of the U.S. dollar triggered a correction, dealers said.
(Yonhap News)
