Seoul stocks inch down as investors turn cautious

Stocks closed lower Thursday after a choppy session, as hopes for economic recovery were balanced against concerns of rapid inflation.

A screen at Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 3,007.33 points on Thursday, down 5.8 points, or 0.19 percent from the previous trading day. [NEWS1]

Stocks closed lower Thursday after a choppy session, as hopes for economic recovery were balanced against concerns of rapid inflation. The won fell against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi lost 5.8 points, or 0.19 percent, to close at 3,007.33 points.

Trading volume was moderate at about 871 million shares worth some 10.3 trillion won ($8.7 billion), with loser outnumbering gainers 563 to 297.

Foreigners bought a net 111 billion won, while retail investors sold 86 billion won. Institutions purchased a net 61 billion won.

Stocks fluctuated as investors take a wait-and-see approach amid growing hopes of a fast economic reopening and concerns about post-pandemic inflation.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.43 percent to 35,609 points, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite slipped 0.05 percent to 15,121 points.

"The U.S. stocks are performing better at the moment, because local stocks markets are currently lacking the upward momentum," said Meritz Securities analyst Lee Jin-woo.

Samsung Electronics slid 0.14 percent to 70,200 won, and chipmaker SK hynix lost 1.63 percent to 96,300 won.

Internet portal operator Naver advanced 0.74 percent to 410,500 won, and Kakao closed unchanged at 128,000 won. Kakao Bank gained 0.84 percent to 60,200 won

LG Chem shed 4.05 percent to 806,000 won, and carmaker Hyundai Motor declined 0.72 percent to 207,500 won.

Pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics fell 0.8 percent to 868,000 won, and Celltrion edged down 0.68 percent to 217,500 won.

Steelmaker Posco climbed 0.48 percent to 311,000 won, and rechargeable battery maker Samsung SDI dropped 0.55 percent to 723,000 won.

Online game publisher NCSoft fell 0.8 percent to 619,000 won, and Netmarble closed unchanged at 126,000 won.

The Kosdaq fell 7.92 points, or 0.79 percent, to close at 993,70.

The local currency closed at 1,177.2 won against the dollar, up 3 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds lost 1.2 basis points to 1.834 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond gained 2.1 basis points to 1.65 percent.

BY LEE TAE-HEE, YONHAP [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]