Seoul shares fall for 3rd straight day on tech losses

South Korean stocks fell for the third consecutive session Friday, led by tech share losses. The local currency rose against the US dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) lost 13.79 points, or 0.54 percent, to close at 2,542.36, extending its losing streak from Wednesday.

Trading volume was light at 315.1 million shares worth 7.8 trillion won (US$5.66 billion), with decliners beating gainers 599 to 288.

Foreigners and institutions dumped a net 38.8 billion won and 188.4 billion won, respectively, while individuals scooped up a net 214.4 billion won.

Overnight, US stocks finished sharply lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.9 percent and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.8 percent after a disappointing outlook from Meta Platforms and Microsoft.

In Seoul, tech shares led the decline.

Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory chip maker, fell 1.52 percent to 58,300 won, and SK hynix retreated 2.2 percent to 182,200.

Top online portal operator Naver dropped 0.18 percent to 169,700 won and industry rival Kakao declined 2.17 percent to 36,150 won.

Leading retailer Shinsegae skidded 2.41 percent to 150,100 won, and entertainment giant CJ ENM decreased 2.23 percent to 61,500 won.

But battery shares finished in positive territory as industry leader LG Energy Solution rose 1.23 percent to 412,500 won and POSCO Future M added 1.56 percent to 228,000 won.

Korea Zinc, struggling with an intensifying management battle, rose 0.6 percent to 1 million won, and SK Innovation jumped 3.75 percent to 121,800 won after merging with its affiliate SK E&S.

The local currency was trading at 1,379.4 won against the US dollar as of 3:30 p.m., up 0.5 won from the previous session.