Seoul shares ended nearly flat on Wednesday, back-pedalling after an early rally that saw the main bourse touch a six-month intraday peak as retail and institutional investors cashed in on recent gains, despite an extended buying run by offshore investors.
Analyst said the benchmark may have reached a short-term peak with a lack of drivers to push a further advance. "Investors saw a ripe time to take profits after the index climbed above 1,950 (points). Having gained 18 percent over last year's low seen in September, the market has probably run out of steam and is likely to wander for the time being," said Park Jung-woo, an analyst at SK Securities. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) nudged up 0.12 percent to close at 1,952.23 points, retreating from a session and six-month intraday peak of 1,973.35.
Offshore investors continued to gobble up shares, buying a net 929.7 billion won ($819.7 million) worth and setting a 10-day buying streak. Institutions however dumped a net 527.7 billion won worth of shares while retail investors offloaded 399.1 billion.
Large-cap technology shares finished strong, basking in the limelight of Apple Inc's latest quarterly results, which shattered Wall Street forecasts on the back of unprecedented smartphone sales. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, the largest share on the KOSPI, eased back from its daily peak of 1,125,000 won ($991.85), but still wrapped up the session at an all-time closing high of 1,114,000 won, gaining 0.81 percent on the day. SK Telecom, South Korea's largest mobile carrier, soared 4.03 percent, while LG UPlus, the country's third-largest provider, rose 0.91 percent.
"Telecom issues are enjoying the benefits of high dividend rates, healthy competitive conditions and the easing of foreign selling after SK Telecom's take-over of Hynix," said Kim Jang-won, a senior analyst at IBK Securities. Shares in OCI Co Ltd fell 2.99 percent on media reports that firm may be facing additional tax bills. GS Retail shares fell 4.23 percent on reports that it was entering the fray for the take-over of electronics retailer Hi-mart Co Ltd. The KOSPI 200 index closed up 0.21 percent while the junior KOSDAQ index edged 0.14 percent lower.