Seoul stocks fall

Seoul shares fell 0.24 percent on Tuesday as investors cashed in recent gains while waiting for clues about what might give the market some new momentum. For a fifth day in a row, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) reached higher than the closely-watched 2,050 threshold during the session but failed to stay there, ending at 2,042.15. The last close above 2,050 came on August 3.
Financials, which were outperformers during the latest rally, saw the steepest declines on Tuesday as investors locked in profits. Hana Financial Group fell 1.03 percent while Woori Finance Holdings closed 2.2 percent lower, snapping a five-day winning streak that followed last week's announcement of a renewed sales bid.
Kim Se-joong, an analyst at Shinyoung Securities, said "Distinct signals, whether it be US housing data pointing to a stable recovery or stronger indications of policy easing in China, will be needed to get momentum going again." Defensive issues sank across the board, with food conglomerate Orion Corp falling 3.82 percent while biopharmaceutical front-runner Celltrion tumbled 4.2 percent.
Investors continued to stock up on blue chips on positive earnings expectations, lifting shares in Samsung Electronics to an all-time intraday high of 1,277,000 won ($1,140) early in the session, before easing back to close up 0.56 percent at 1,267,000 won. A total of 535.4 million shares exchanged hands on the main bourse, while losers outnumbered shares that gained by 524 to 302. The benchmark KOSPI 200 index edged 0.22 percent lower while the junior, KOSDAQ fell 0.79 percent.