SEOUL: Seoul shares inched lower on Thursday after a narrow, rangebound session, as investors consolidated gains in the wake of Wednesday's rally that lifted shares to a 7-month high, while demand concerns from China weighed.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was down 0.23 percent at 2,040.29 points as of 0230 GMT.
"There isn't a whole lot of momentum going anywhere, especially with lingering caution over oil prices and a weak yen as well as Wen's rather downbeat note on the Chinese economy," said Rhoo Yong-suk, an analyst at Hyundai Securities.
"Investors are now looking to first-quarter corporate earnings to provide clearer market direction," he said, adding that he sees the market consolidating bear 2,050.
Asia peers also edged lower on Thursday after Premier Wen Jiabao said China must embrace slower growth and doused hopes for easing measures in the country's real estate market, raising concerns of faltering global demand.
US stocks were choppy on Wednesday as investors found little reason to extend a rally that lifted Wall Street to multi-year highs earlier in the week.
Auto-parts maker Hyundai Mobis extended its latest rally with an 1.88 percent gain, poised for a three-day winning run as the US-S.Korea free trade agreement officially kicked into effect on Thursday.
Automotive components are seen to be the largest beneficiary of the trade deal, with tariffs on auto-parts being removed immediately rather than an incremental reduction agreed on for many other sectors.
LCD Monitors are also subject to immediate duty-free treatment, lifting LG Display shares up 2.12 percent to outperform sector peers. LG Display is also a major supplier of Apple Inc's newest iPad, which saw record pre-orders being placed for the tablet.
Hanjin Shipping Co rose for the third-straight day, up 1.99 percent after a transocean container shipping group recommended a new $400 rate hike to boost dwindling margins.
Crude oil refiners were highlight underperformers, as SK Innovation, South Korea's largest refiner, fell 3.16 percent while S-Oil, the country's third-largest, tumbled 4.12 percent.
CJ Corp, a South Korean food and pharmaceutical conglomerate, rose 2.75 percent after Dubai courier firm Aramex said it signed a partnership agreement with CJ GLS, an unlisted affiliate of CJ Corp, for its latest expansion into east Asia.
The broad KOSPI index has risen almost 12 percent this year, but analysts are viewing the 2,050 chart level as the short-term ceiling and see constrained, rangebound movements to persist until first-quarter earnings provide further guidance.
The benchmark KOSPI 200 index was down 0.18 percent while the junior, tech-heavy KOSDAQ was 0.21 percent lower as of 0230 GMT.
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