Seoul Shares End Lower on Foreign, Retail Selling

South Korean stocks closed slightly lower Thursday as foreign and retail investors sold some blue-chip shares.

Reversing its morning gains, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) inched down 0.13 point, or 0.01 percent, to 1,717.66. Volume was moderate at 320 million shares worth 3.88 trillion won ($3.74 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 418 to 367.

Construction and insurance stocks led the overall losses. Hyundai Engineering & Construction, the No. 2 builder, tumbled 2.74 percent to 71,100 won and top non-life insurer Samsung Fire & Marine shed 1.96 percent to 225,000 won.

Telecom and energy shares also finished lower. Leading fixed-line operator KT fell 0.66 percent to 45,200 won and top refiner SK Energy lost 0.76 percent to finish at 131,000 won.

However, export-oriented stocks gained ground. Tech giant Samsung Electronics climbed 1.53 percent to 665,000 won and top steel maker POSCO added 0.93 percent to finish at 540,000 won. Leading automaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.52 percent to 76,600 won.

Earlier in the day, the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee froze its federal funds rate at 2 percent, citing inflationary risks on increased energy costs. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.04 percent and the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index rose 1.39 percent.

The tech-savvy Kosdaq market closed at 602.74, up 1.02 points or 0.17 percent.

The Korean won closed at 1,036.6 won against the dollar, up 1.4 won from Wednesday's close, as overseas investors sold the dollar.