An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Thursday. (Yonhap)
Seoul shares closed lower Thursday as investors attempted to cash in recent gains. The Korean won gained against the US dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 6.62 points, or 0.25 percent, to close at 2,613.80.
Trade volume was moderate at 607.8 million shares worth 10.25 trillion won ($7.68 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 539 to 330.
Foreigners and institutions sold stocks worth 14.8 billion won and 49.3 billion won, respectively, while individuals purchased a combined 29.7 billion won.
Overnight, the US stock market gained ground after a sharp decline the previous day sparked by hotter-than-expected inflation data.
January's consumer price index report threw cold water on expectations the US Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates this year, but investors found calm after Fed officials made dovish comments.
The Fed's Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee has said inflation may come in a bit higher for a few months but it would still be consistent with a path back to the central bank's 2 percent goal.
In Seoul, big-cap shares, led by techs and autos, ended mixed.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 1.35 percent to 73,000 won, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix was flat at 148,700 won.
Top carmaker Hyundai Motor dropped 2.24 percent to 240,000 won, and its smaller affiliate Kia plunged 3.49 percent to 113,500 won.
Bio giant Samsung Biologics retreated 0.85 percent to 821,000 won, and Celltrion lost 0.87 percent to 182,600 won.
Financial shares also lost ground, with Shinhan Financial Group down 1.83 percent to 43,000 won and Hana Financial Group down 0.75 percent to 53,000 won.
But battery and IT shares ended in positive terrain.
Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution advanced 1.93 percent to 395,500 won, and Posco Future M jumped 5.25 percent to 300,500 won.
Internet portal operator Naver rose 0.49 percent to 203,500 won and Kakao, the operator of the country's top mobile messenger, shot up 7.83 percent to 59,200 won on record sales in the fourth quarter.
Steel giant Posco Holdings and leading chemical producer LG Chem also climbed 1.73 percent and 4.88 percent to 440,500 won and 483,500 won, respectively.
The local currency closed at 1,334.00 won against the greenback, up 1.4 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)
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