Seoul shares dipped after volatile trade on Thursday, weighed by falls in crude oil refiners and technology plays including Hynix, but a bounce in shipyards gave the market support. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index ended down 0.6 percent at 1,949.88 points. The KOSPI 200 March futures index fell 2.55 points to 257.20 points. The KOSPI 200 spot index lost 1.52 points to 257.69 points. The junior Kosdaq index declined 1.19 percent to 501.11 points.
Technical analysis indicated the KOSPI had solid technical support in the 1,875-1,900 point range, levels seen last December before a rally that lifted the index to a record high. The KOSPI is trading around its 120-day moving average of 1,960 points. Foreign investors were sellers of a net 182.7 billion won ($162.1 million) worth of stocks, offloading shares for a third consecutive session.
Crude refiners lost ground following their recent rally, with S-Oil falling 7.2 percent and SK Innovation down 1.4 percent. S-Oil had risen nearly 7 percent over the previous five sessions and SK Innovation gained about 4 percent, compared to the main index's 1 percent fall. SK Telecom Co Ltd rose 3.2 percent after local media reported that the country's top mobile carrier planned to sell Apple Inc's iPhone 4, currently offered exclusively by smaller rival KT Corp.
"This is very good news (and) means the next generation of iPhones and other products such as the iPad will also be offered by SK Telecom," said NH Investment & Securities analyst Kim Hong-seek. KT Corp lost 1.2 percent. Top retailers eased after weak consumer sentiment data and on growing concerns that rising inflationary pressure would dent consumer appetite further.
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