Seoul shares slipped on Wednesday after sharp gains in the prior session as blue chip technology stocks such as Samsung Electronics took a breather from recent rallies. "Positive expectations over US economic data had helped the market but it took a breather today as it nears the psychologically significant 1,900 points," said Chung Seung-jae, a market analyst at Mirae Asset Securities.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index ended down 0.49 percent at 1,866.22 points, hovering near its 120-day moving average of around 1,874 points. Foreign investors were buyers of a net 293.8 billion won ($255.31 million) worth of stocks after posting their biggest net purchase in two weeks on Tuesday.
Retail investors sold a net 389.3 billion won. Samsung Electronics slid 2.3 percent after reaching record highs in the last two sessions and closing at an all-time peak of 1,105,000 won on Tuesday. Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors both rose around 1 percent on the back of solid December sales figures and positive fourth quarter earnings expectations, said Woori Investment & Securities analyst Cho Soo-hong. The KOSPI 200 index fell 0.6 percent, while the junior Kosdaq market rose 0.5 percent.