Kospi closes lower Tuesday on tech, battery losses

Stocks closed lower Tuesday as major stocks dived across the bourse ahead of the U.S. central bank's rate-setting decision later this week. The won rose against the dollar.

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show the Kospi closing at 2,559.21 points on Tuesday, down 0.60 percent, or 15.51 points, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Stocks closed lower Tuesday as major stocks dived across the bourse ahead of the U.S. central bank's rate-setting decision later this week. The won rose against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi lost 15.51 points, or 0.6 percent, to finish at 2,559.21.

Trading volume was moderate at 455.9 million shares worth 7.6 trillion won ($5.7 billion), with decliners outpacing winners 577 to 302.

Offshore and retail investors purchased 2.6 billion won and 360.6 billion worth of local shares, respectively, while institutions sold off a net 385.5 billion won.

Overnight, U.S. stocks remained nearly flat as investors stayed cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate decision. The Dow Jones Industrial Average grew 0.02 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite inched up 0.01 percent, and the S&P 500 rose 0.07 percent.

The Fed will begin its two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting Tuesday and is expected to hold rates steady.

"The market didn't show a clear direction ahead of the FOMC meeting, but big-cap stocks on the Kospi retreated overall as foreigners sold off futures," Mirae Asset Securities analyst Kim Seok-hwan said.

"In particular, semiconductor and secondary battery shares fell due to Tesla's slide," Kim added.

In Seoul, most large-cap stocks finished in negative terrain.

Samsung Electronics retreated 0.6 percent to 69,800 won and LG Energy Solution sank 2.1 percent to 496,500 won.

Samsung SDI dropped 1.6 percent to 558,000 won and LG Chem lost 3.7 percent to 552,000 won.

Posco Holdings went down 1.7 percent to 593,000 won and Posco Future M plunged 3.4 percent to 396,500 won.

IT stocks also ended lower, with Naver declining 0.9 percent to 219,500 won and Kakao decreasing 1.5 percent to 47,850 won.

Among gainers, SK hynix climbed 0.2 percent to 119,200 won and Hyundai Mobis advanced 0.9 percent to 237,000 won.

The local currency ended at 1,328.5 won against the dollar, up 4.1 won from Monday's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds added 0.1 basis points to 3.9 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. government bonds retreated 2.3 basis points to 4.3 percent.

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