SEOUL: Seoul shares gave up earlier rises of as much as 1.4 percent and fell more than 3 percent on Monday as persistent volatility in the local forex market and caution on the eurozone debt crisis kept investors at bay.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was down 2.49 percent to 1,655.17 points as of 0124 GMT, after falling to as low as 1,644.11 points, its lowest in 15 months.
"Anxiety is rattling the market today. Earlier worries about the Europe debt crisis have expanded to global economic concerns and volatility in the local forex market is not helping either," said Juhn Jong-kyu, a market analyst at Samsung Securities.
The market's 30-day relative strength index (RSI) stood at 35. A reading below 30 indicates stocks are technically oversold, while a value above 70 indicates they are overbought.
"If the won continues to weaken to 1,200 per dollar, we will probably see more foreign investor selling," Juhn added.
Foreign investors were sellers of a net 13.4 billion won ($11.5 million) worth of stocks, poised to offload shares for a third straight session.
Shares in crude oil refiners and shipyards lost ground as the gloomy economic outlook dented appetite for sectors more sensitive to economic cycles.
Shares in S-Oil fell 4.7 percent and SK Innovation declined 5.9 percent.
Hyundai Heavy Industries , the world's No.1 shipbuilder, fell 4.5 percent and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering lost 5.2 percent.
Hanjin Shipping tumbled by the daily limit of 15 percent after the shipper said on Friday it would issue new shares worth $400 million, sparking concerns about an equity dilution and a prolonged industry downturn.
"In our view, the container shipping industry is in a major over capacity-induced slump - particularly on long-haul routes which are the core of Hanjin's business," BofA Merrill Lynch said in a report.
"We think the move is clearly negative for shareholders in the near-term but should give the company much needed liquidity to endure an expected prolonged downturn," the report said
But defensive issues outperformed, with SK Telecom , the country's top wireless carrier, gaining 1.7 percent and Shinsegae , the country's No.2 retailer, rising 1.1 percent.
Banks bounced after financial regulators said on Friday that some local banks that previously had flunked worst-case stress tests now had sound foreign-exchange funding ability.
Shares in KB Financial Group rose 2.8 percent and Shinhan Financial Group advanced 2.4 percent.
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