SEOUL: Seoul shares traded modestly lower on Wednesday after sharp recent gains, but rises in technology and banking stocks like LG Electronics and Hana Financial Group gave the market support.
"The market is taking a breather today as stocks have risen sharply this week. The overall mood is positive though, thanks to growing hopes that US consumers are warming up," said Yoo Soo-min, a market analyst at Hyundai Securities.
Data from the US Conference Board's index of consumer confidence, which in November jumped to its highest level since July, beat forecasts.
Foreign investors were sellers of a net 35.4 billion won ($30.91 million) worth of stocks, but institutions were buyers of a net 34.1 billion won, poised to pick up shares for a fifth straight session.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was down 0.28 percent at 1,851.40 points as of 0155 GMT, after gaining 4.5 percent on the week.
Hana Financial Group advanced 1.8 percent after a news report the price for its planned purchase of Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) from US fund Lone Star could be cut to around 4 trillion won from earlier estimates of around 4.4 trillion won.
Technology issues continued to be lifted by positive US consumer sentiment readings, with LG Electronics, the world's No.3 handset maker, rising 1.4 percent and Samsung Electronics gaining 0.5 percent.
Shares in STX Pan Ocean rose 2.1 percent and Hanjin Shipping climbed 3.3 percent after a 1 percent gain in the Baltic Dry Index, which tracks the cost of shipping key commodities.
Defensive issues attracted investor interest following losses this week, with Hite Jinro rising 1.8 percent and Lotte Confectionary advancing 2.5 percent.
Hyundai Motor lost 0.5 percent and Hyundai Mobis shed 1.9 percent.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.