Stocks close lower as investors wait on Fed

Stocks finished lower Wednesday as investors stayed put ahead of U.S. chipmaker Nvidia's results and the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium for hints on the monetary tightening policy moving forward. The won fell against the dollar.

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show the Kospi closing at 2,505.5 points on Wednesday, down 0.41 percent, or 10.24 points, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Stocks finished lower Wednesday as investors stayed put ahead of U.S. chipmaker Nvidia's results and the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium for hints on the monetary tightening policy moving forward. The won fell against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi declined 10.24 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 2,505.5.

Trading volume was moderate at 535.96 million shares worth 8.35 trillion won ($6.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 503 to 367.

Institutional and foreign investors sold a combined 93 billion won worth of stocks, offsetting individuals' stock purchase of 94 billion won.

Overnight, U.S. stocks ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 0.51 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite inching up 0.06 percent.

Nvidia's second-quarter earnings report, due later Wednesday, will likely have broader implications for the markets as the tech stock accounts for more than 3 percent of the S&P 500, analysts said.

Investors await an address Friday by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Fed's annual summit in Jackson Hole set to begin the previous day.

In Seoul, most large-cap stocks drove the bourse down.

Samsung Electronics rose 0.75 percent to 67,100 won, while SK hynix fell 0.43 percent to 116,000 won.

LG Energy Solution sank 2.6 percent to 525,000 won and Samsung SDI lost 2.01 percent to 586,000 won. LG Chem slid 1.92 percent to 562,000 won.

Samsung Biologics dropped 1.29 percent to 763,000 won and Celltrion declined 1.32 percent to 141,500 won.

Carmakers inched down, with Hyundai Motor shrinking 0.21 percent to 187,500 won and Kia retreating 0.13 percent to 78,700 won.

Among gainers, Kakao lifted 0.51 percent to 48,900 won.

KB Financial Group grew 0.77 percent to 52,600 won, Shinhan Financial Group climbed 0.29 percent to 35,050 won and Hana Financial Group jumped 1.84 percent to 38,800 won.

The local currency closed at 1,339.70 won against the dollar, up 4.2 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds shed 3.7 basis points to 3.8 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bonds lost 0.7 basis points to 4.3 percent.

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