Seoul shares end lower for 2nd day on profit-taking
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 23.62 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 3,055.94.
Trade volume was moderate at 377.4 million shares worth 13.8 trillion won ($10.2 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 659 to 245.
Foreigners sold a net 855.4 billion won worth of local shares, while institutions and retail investors combined bought shares worth a net 805 billion won.
Overnight, Wall Street ended higher on hopes that the United States could extend its pause on reciprocal tariffs, which is set to expire next month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average went up 0.94 percent, and the S&P 500 gained 0.8 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite added 0.97 percent.
"The Kospi, which had risen around 15 percent this month, apparently fell as profit-taking continued for the second session," said Lee Kyung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.
The overall losses were led by battery and automotive shares, with top battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution plunging 3.03 percent to 288,000 won and leading automaker Hyundai Motor dropping 2.15 percent to 205,000 won.
Internet portal operators and refiners also extended their losses. Top portal firm Naver went down 1.34 percent to 257,500 won, and leading refiner SK Innovation tumbled 2.49 percent.
Chip shares traded mixed, with Samsung Electronics up 1 percent to 60,800 won and rival SK hynix falling 3.07 percent to 284,000 won.
The local currency was trading at 1,357.4 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 0.5 won from the previous session.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys fell 0.1 basis point to 2.453 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds declined 1.4 basis points to 2.585 percent. (Yonhap)
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