Seoul, Jan 26 (IANS) South Korean stocks closed lower on Monday to snap three consecutive days of rise ahead of a U.S. rate-setting meeting, with investors sitting on the sidelines amid geopolitical uncertainties in Iran.
The Korean won sharply gained against the U.S. dollar, and the tech-laden KOSDAQ surged by more than 7 percent to land above 1,000 for the first time in more than four years, reports Yonhap news agency.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 40.48 points, or 0.81 percent, to close at 4,949.59.
The KOSPI has been enjoying decent gains this year while moving above the 5,000-point threshold since Thursday last week, although the index has not yet closed above the mark.
Trade volume was moderate at 438 million shares worth 22.5 trillion won (US$15.6 billion), with winners far outpacing losers 502 to 391.
Institutions and foreigners sold 158.4 billion won and 1.54 trillion won, respectively, while individuals bought a net 1.71 billion won.
Analysts said investors took a wait-and-see approach to this week’s events, such as the Federal Reserve’s rate decision and the release of fourth-quarter earnings by major firms, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.
Looming geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran, along with Washington’s ambition over Greenland, weighed on investor sentiment as well.
“The rosy outlook for fourth-quarter earnings of semiconductor shares have already priced in recent gains,” Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said.
“Investors should focus on companies’ conference calls, which will unveil their road map for HBM4 chips and supply of general-purpose memory,” Han added.
Top tech giant Samsung Electronics closed unchanged at 152,100 won, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix moved down 4.04 percent to 736,000 won.
Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor fell 3.43 percent to 492,500 won, and its sister Kia shed 3.51 percent to 155,200 won.
Financial firms closed lower as well, with KB Financial falling 0.07 percent to 135,500 won and Shinhan Financial decreasing 1.79 percent to 82,400 won.
The secondary KOSDAQ index shot up 7.09 percent to close above 1,000 after more than four years.
—IANS
na/
