Seoul shares finished lower on Monday as appetite for riskier assets eased amid anti-government rioting in Egypt, trimming shares of builders and autos including Daewoo Engineering & Construction and Hyundai Motor. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished down 1.8 percent at 2,069.73 points.
The KOSPI 200 March futures index fell 4.65 points to 274.15 points. The KOSPI 200 spot index lost 5.33 points to 273.12. The junior Kosdaq index went down 1.15 percent to 521.38. "Negative global events, such as civil unrest in Egypt, erupted at a time when the KOSPI was ripe for profit-taking following the latest rallies," said Lee Sun-yeb, a market analyst at Shinhan Investment Corp.
The main KOSPI's relative strength index (RSI) stood at about 55, not far from the overbought mark of 70. "Investors are particularly reluctant to participate ahead of the long Lunar New Year holiday this week," Lee added. Foreign investors were sellers of a net 693.8 billion won ($621.9 million) worth of stocks, the biggest foreign net selling since November 2009. Shares in techs lost ground, with Samsung Electronics losing 2.9 percent after hitting a fresh all-time high in the previous session. Losses in the US Philadelphia semiconductor index also weighed.
Shares in construction firms such as Samsung Engineering dipped amid escalating civil unrest in Egypt and other parts of the Middle East. The United States led an international push on Sunday to force President Hosni Mubarak to yield to Egyptians' demands for democracy. But there was little sign the army was about to end his 30-year rule.
"Civil unrest in Egypt and signs of restlessness in other areas of the Middle East have prompted concerns about construction firms with exposure to this region," said Cho Joo-hyung, an analyst at Kyobo Securities. "Order flows from the Middle East may be negatively affected," Cho added.
Shares in Samsung Engineering fell 2.7 percent and Daewoo Engineering & Construction fell 2.8 percent. Shares in GS Construction fell 7 percent after a local media report that the firm has called back its employees in Egypt. Auto issues also tumbled, pressured by steep losses in their US peers and strength in crude oil prices. Shares in Hyundai Motor lost 4.8 percent and Kia Motors dipped 4.5 percent.
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