Stocks close down for second day as investors remain cautious

Stocks closed lower for the second straight day Wednesday, as investors were cautious to make risky bets ahead of the earnings season set to kick off next week.

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,368.32 points on Wednesday, down 11.07 points, or 0.47 percent, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

Stocks closed lower for the second straight day Wednesday, as investors were cautious to make risky bets ahead of the earnings season set to kick off next week.

The local currency inched down against the dollar.

The Kospi lost 11.07 points, or 0.47 percent, to 2,368.32. Trading volume was moderate at 528.3 million shares worth 5.43 trillion won ($4.38 billion) with decliners outpacing gainers 548 to 296.

"Anticipation over the fourth-quarter earnings is already low, but the market would react dramatically to the earnings results, depending on each company or industry, making the market more volatile and leaving investors unsettled," according to Kim Jee-hyun, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.

Companies are expected to announce their quarterly earnings results beginning next week, with the market consensus leaning toward lackluster performances in some sectors amid a sluggish economy.

Tech and steel companies dragged down the main index, with Samsung Electronics falling 0.1 percent to 60,400 won and chipmaker SK hynix losing 1.05 percent to 85,100 won.

Posco Holdings slid 1.8 percent to 300,000 won.

Auto-related stocks also finished in the red. Hyundai Motor fell 0.9 percent to 164,500 won, and Hyundai Mobis, its auto components supplier, slumped 3 percent to 209,000 won.

Air carriers, on the other hand, closed in the positive territory. Korean Air Lines climbed 1.2 percent to 24,750 won, and Asiana Airlines jumped 5.1 percent to 15,400 won.

Mobile carriers also finished higher. SK Telecom rose 0.9 percent to 47,250 won, and its rival KT gained 1.2 percent to 34,900 won.

The local currency ended at 1,237.40 won against the dollar, down 1.3 won from Tuesday's close.

The Kosdaq climbed 2.04 points, or 0.29 percent, to close at 711.75 points.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds lost 8.9 basis points to 3.395 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bonds gained 4.4 basis points to 3.548 percent.

Institutions unloaded a net 22.8 billion won of local equities. Foreigners and individuals bought a net 12.1 billion won and a net 23.9 billion won, respectively.

BY SEO JI-EUN, YONHAP [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]