Korean shares plunge by more than 2 percent ahead of Fed minutes release

Shares dropped by more than 2 percent Wednesday as investors cashed in recent gains ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest minutes release. The local currency fell in value against the dollar.

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show the Kospi closing at 2,607.31 points on Wednesday, down 2.34 percent, or 62.50 points, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Shares dropped by more than 2 percent Wednesday as investors cashed in recent gains ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest minutes release. The local currency fell in value against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi lost 62.50 points, or 2.34 percent, to close at 2,607.31, ending its four-day winning streak.

The Kosdaq fell 7.36 points, or 0.84 percent, to close at 871.57.

Trade volume was moderate at 455.9 million shares worth 9.99 trillion won ($7.65 billion), with losers outpacing winners 610 to 279.

Foreigners and institutions sold shares worth 93.4 billion won and 1.2 trillion won, respectively, offsetting individuals' stock purchases valued at 1.3 trillion won.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.07 percent to 37,715.04, but the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1.6 percent to 14,765.94.

The Fed minutes are set to be released Wednesday (U.S. time), with investors expecting the U.S. bank to cut interest rates this year.

"The U.S. stock market saw tech shares, such as semiconductors, slide on adjustment on the Fed's rate cut bets and heightened caution ahead of the release of employment data, and this also weighed down on the domestic market," Park Kwang-nam, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, said.

In Seoul, most of the large-cap stocks ended in negative terrain.

Samsung Electronics fell 3.27 percent to 77,000 won, and SK hynix declined 3.93 percent to 136,800 won.

LG Energy Solution shed 3.14 percent to 416,000 won, and Samsung SDI plunged 4.39 percent to 446,500 won. Posco Future M also shot down 5.68 percent to 332,000 won.

Hyundai Motor dropped 3.34 percent to 193,800 won and Kia fell 3.89 percent to 93,800 won.

Posco Holdings fell 3.18 percent to 472,500 won, and LG Chem slid down 2.63 percent to 480,500 won.

Among gainers, EcoPro rose 3.05 percent to 206,000 won and Korea Electric Power Corporation climbed 2.18 percent to 19,250 won.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year government bonds rose 4.0 points to 3.278 percent, and the return on benchmark U.S. 10-year government bonds climbed 5.5 points to 3.934 percent.

BY KIM JU-YEON, YONHAP [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]