Kospi down for fourth straight day on lingering economic woes

Stocks ended lower Wednesday as concerns over the staggering Chinese economy and continued rate hikes in the United States dampened investor sentiment. The won fell against the dollar.

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show the Kospi closing at 2,525.64 points on Wednesday, down 1.76 percent, or 45.23 points, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Stocks ended lower Wednesday as concerns over the staggering Chinese economy and continued rate hikes in the United States dampened investor sentiment. The won fell against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi shed 45.23 points, or 1.76 percent, to close at 2,525.64. The index closed at the lowest point since July 10.

Trading volume was moderate at 670.76 million shares worth 11.8 trillion won ($8.83 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 776 to 135.

Institutions and foreigners sold a net 360.58 billion won and 1.36 billion won worth of shares, respectively, while retail investors bought a net 330.33 billion won.

"The market is expected to come under downward pressure and face greater volatility for the time being due to external factors, including China's growth potential, risks of its property sector, and the U.S.' policy path to curb inflation," Daeshin Securities analyst Lee Kyung-min said.

Data showed that U.S. retail sales grew at a faster-than-expected rate of 0.7 percent in July, which could lead to the Fed's continued push for aggressive monetary tightening.

Latest Chinese data indicated its faltering economic recovery and Beijing on Tuesday unexpectedly cut an interest rate to spur growth.

In Seoul, most large-cap stocks lost ground.

Samsung Electronics fell 0.45 percent to 67,000 won and LG Energy Solution sank 2.95 percent to 526,000 won.

Posco Holdings dropped 5.37 percent to 546,000 won and Samsung SDI retreated 1.48 percent to 601,000 won. LG Chem tumbled 2.18 percent to 584,000 won.

Carmakers also lost ground, with Hyundai Motor skidding 1.59 percent to 185,800 won and Kia losing 0.89 percent to 78,000 won.

Samsung Biologics went down 1.64 percent to 781,000 won and Celltrion plunged 5.39 percent to 145,700 won.

But SK hynix grew 0.78 percent to 115,800 won.

The local currency ended at 1,336.9 won against the dollar, up 6.0 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds shed 2.6 basis points to 3.717 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bonds advanced 2.3 basis points to 4.216 percent.

BY SOHN DONG-JOO, YONHAP [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]