Seoul shares give up gains

South Korean stocks reversed earlier gains to end lower on Friday, with foreign investors accelerating selling ahead of the weekend, while auto, chemical and refining issues tumbled. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost ground after two days of small gains, closing down 1.33 percent to 1,793.31 points and marking a 17.4 percent plunge since August 2.
"Foreign investors will continue their selling spree as they are shifting from risky assets to safe assets in the face of global economic uncertainty and concerns about fiscal health in advanced countries," said Kim Soo-young, an analyst at KB Investment & Securities.
"Seoul shares will try to rebound next week on bargain-hunting, but gains will be limited because the economic problems that have sparked recent corrections have not been resolved." The market opened 1.47 percent higher, as retail investors snapped up beaten-down shares after US jobs data helped Wall Street rally overnight. But foreign investors continued selling for a ninth straight session, unloading a net 275.5 billion won ($254.7 million) worth of shares. They offloaded a net 3.09 trillion won this week, marking their biggest weekly sale since mid-January 2008. Hyundai Motor slumped 4.57 percent and Kia Motors fell 5.26 percent.
LG Chem skidded 9.23 percent, while Hanwha Chemical dropped 7.7 percent. SK Innovation, South Korea's top refiner, declined 5.25 percent, while S-Oil dived 7.56 percent. Shares in Woori Finance Holdings jumped as much as 5.4 percent on positive expectations for its sale before closing 0.89 percent higher.
US investment bank Goldman Sachs is very likely to invest around 600 billion won ($555 million) in South Korean private equity fund MBK Partners in its bid for Woori Finance Holdings, a source with direct knowledge of the proposed deal told Reuters. The KOSPI 200 September futures slipped 3.1 points to 230.40. The KOSPI 200 spot index declined 3.76 points at 230.38. The junior Kosdaq market finished up 1.05 percent at 474.15.