Seoul shares close lower on profit taking despite U.S. gains

Seoul shares closed lower Friday as investors took profit following strong gains in recent sessions despite overnight success on Wall Street. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slipped 0.82 percent, or 21.79 points, to 2,649.78. Trading volume was moderate at 402.1 million shares worth 11.4 trillion won (US$8.65 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 457 to 414. Institutions dumped a net 421.6 billion won worth of local shares, while retail and foreign investors purchased a net 436.9 billion won worth of shares combined. Overnight, major U.S. indexes gained ground thanks to the surprise earnings result of Micron Technology, lifting artificial intelligence-related shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.62 percent, the S and P 500 increased 0.4 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite soared 0.6 percent. Despite such positive market signs from the U.S., local blue chips lost steam as investors locked in profits after a series o f gains recorded in the past several sessions. "After the sharp rise driven by positive factors such as Micron Technology's earnings and China's economic stimulus measures, the market seems to be taking a breather," said Kang Jin-hyuk, an analyst at Shinhan Financial Securities. Bio and automotive shares fell sharply, with Samsung Biologics plunging 6.27 percent to 986,000 won and Hyundai Motor sliding 1.74 percent to 254,500 won. Financial shares and refiners also lost momentum, Shinhan Financial fell 1.4 percent to 56,200 won and SK Innovation dropped 1.58 percent to 118,700 won. Chipmakers closed mixed. Market behemoth Samsung Electronics fell 0.77 percent to 64,200 won, but SK hynix gained 1.6 percent to end at 183,800 won. The local currency was trading at 1,318.6 won against the U.S. dollar, up 8.6 won from the previous session. Source: Yonhap News Agency