Seoul shares dipped on Monday as foreign investor selling continued for a third straight session, with technology issues and crude oil refiners including Samsung Electronics and S-Oil losing ground. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index ended down 0.6 percent at 2,019.65 points. KOSPI 200 September futures ended down 1.85 points at 265.35 points and the KOSPI 200 spot index slid 1.83 points to 264.39. The junior Kosdaq market ended down 0.46 percent at 457.23.
Foreign investors were sellers of a modest net 172.3 billion Korean won ($158.7 million) worth of stocks, offloading shares for a third straight session. Shares in Samsung Electronics extended falls for a third straight session, losing 2.32 percent amid worries about its quarterly earnings.
But other technology issues rebounded after sharp drops in the previous session, with Hynix Semiconductor rising 2.2 percent. Hyundai Motor climbed 0.9 percent after news the company plans to boost its European new-car sales to 500,000 by 2013, up nearly 40 percent from 2010.
But Eugene Corp tumbled 6.6 percent after Himart, in which Eugene Corp is a major shareholder, priced its initial public offering at the bottom of the indicated range at 59,000 won per share. S-Oil, the country's No 3 refiner, fell 4.7 percent and SK Innovation, South Korea's No 1, shed 5.2 percent. Shares in GS Holdings, the holding company for the country's No 2 crude oil refiner, dipped 4.6 percent.