South Korean stocks closed nearly 1 percent lower Thursday, a pullback from the previous session’s record high of the year as worries about a slowdown in the United States loomed again on weak data and a strong dollar, analysts said. The local currency fell against the dollar.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 20.25 points, or 0.99 percent, to 2,022.56. Trading volume was moderate at 336.5 million shares worth 5.1 trillion won ($4.6 billion), with decliners outpacing gainers 457 to 339.
Analysts said the dollar’s appreciation made investors balk at making risky bets, although it is unlikely this will continue.
“Foreign buying has slowed, as the strong greenback is putting pressure on them. But we expect the index to go up since the liquidity support in the eurozone will spur a firm inflow from outside,” said Kong Won-bae, an analyst at Hyundai Securities Co.
The latest U.S. data also weighed on the local market, analysts said. Orders for durable goods in the world’s largest economy fell unexpectedly in March, as opposed to the earlier consensus that had forecast a gain.
Such a report raised concerns on the U.S. manufacturing sector, prompting Wall Street to end lower on Wednesday (U.S. time).
Offshore investors dumped shares on the Seoul bourse, snapping the nine straight sessions of a net buying binge. They unloaded a net 116.7 billion won, along with institutions that sold off a net 62.8 billion won.
Individuals, however, scooped up more shares than they sold at 188.3 billion won, extending their buying to a third consecutive session.
Large-cap shares retreated across the board. Samsung Electronics slumped 4.31 percent to 1,421,000 won, with Cheil Industries, the apparel arm and a key unit of Samsung Group, falling 3.24 percent to 149,500 won.
In contrast, financial issues finished bullish. No. 2 lender KB Financial Group rose 2.89 percent to 39,150 won, and Samsung Life Insurance climbed 1.05 percent to 96,200 won.
The local currency ended at 1,108.00 won against the greenback, down 7.2 won from Wednesday’s close.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year Treasurys slipped 0.6 basis point to 1.779 percent, while the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds held steady at 1.871 percent. (Yonhap)
