Korean stocks closed lower Monday as foreigners and institutions unloaded large-cap issues amid renewed worries over the global economy, analysts said. The local currency dropped against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 8.9 points, or 0.45 percent, to 1,967.81. Trade volume came to 338.21 million shares worth 5.18 trillion won ($4.4 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 514 to 291.
"With uncertainty lingering over the U.S. rate policy, anxiety among investors about the world's two leading economies seems to be growing," said Lee Kyung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.
On Friday, the U.S. announced that its nonfarm payrolls grew by 16,000 in April, which marked the smallest since September. The soft jobs data raised worries over the overall state of the world's largest economy, though it augmented a possibility that a rate hike will be further delayed.
A setback in China's market on Monday following weaker-than-expected trade data unveiled over the weekend also weighed on investor sentiment here. Beijing's customs office earlier said that the country's exports fell 1.8 percent on-year in April.
The Korean stock market got off to a weak start as investors digested key economic data after a four-day holiday that started on Thursday.
Foreigners and institutions led the downward move by selling 52.4 billion won and 97.7 billion won worth of shares in net value, respectively.
Auto issues were among the marked decliners. Hyundai Motor dropped 2.52 percent to 135,500 won, and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors shed 1.49 percent to 46,200 won. Major auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis closed down 1.93 percent to 254,500 won.
Steel and chemical shares also ended bearish. POSCO plunged 5 percent to close at 208,500 won, while LG Chem retreated 3.64 percent to 278,000 won.
After reporting lackluster first-quarter earnings, retail giant Lotte Shopping dived 9.25 percent to 235,500 won. In contrast, Internet portal operator Naver jumped 2.94 percent to 700,000 won on improved earnings.
Korea's won closed at 1,165.8 won against the greenback, down 11.5 won from the previous session. The market closed on Thursday and Friday last week. (Yonhap)
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