Stocks continue slide with sixth day of losses

Shares closed lower for the sixth consecutive session Wednesday as investors awaited U.S. inflation data. The local currency lost ground against the dollar.

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show the Kospi closing at 2,541.98 points on Wednesday, down 0.75 percent, or 19.26 points, from the previous trading session. [NEWS1]

Shares closed lower for the sixth consecutive session Wednesday as investors awaited U.S. inflation data. The local currency lost ground against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi dipped 19.26 points, or 0.75 percent, to close at 2,541.98.

The Kosdaq fell 9.18 points, or 1.04 percent, to close at 875.46.

Trade volume was moderate at 555.7 million shares worth 8.46 trillion won ($6.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 536 to 338.

The Kospi stayed in negative terrain throughout the day, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street.

Foreign investors offloaded a net 215.5 billion won worth of local shares while individual investors purchased a net 351.5 billion won. Institutions net sold 140.9 billion won worth of local shares, extending their selling spree to a sixth consecutive session.

"It appears that investors wish to first check the U.S. December consumer price index (CPI), which is due tomorrow evening," said Jeong Myeong-ji, an analyst at Samsung Securities.

"That is because faster-than-anticipated inflation may lead to a change in the speed of policy pivot by the Federal Reserve," Jeong added.

In Seoul, most large caps closed lower.

Samsung Electronics tumbled 1.47 percent to 73,600 won, and chipmaker SK hynix plunged 2.84 percent to 133,500 won.

Battery maker LG Energy Solution lost 1.68 percent to 410,500 won, and Samsung SDI retreated 3.59 percent to 416,500 won.

Posco Holdings slid down 2.17 percent to 450,500 won and its affiliate Posco Future M dropped 2.14 percent to 320,500 won.

Drug maker Celltrion stayed flat at 206,000 won, but mobile service provider SK Telecom slipped 0.51 percent to 49,000 won.

Automaker Hyundai Motor added 0.59 percent to 186,700 won, while Kia advanced 1.57 percent to 90,500 won.

EcoPro Materials shot up 8.84 percent to 240,000 won.

The local currency closed at 1,320.10 won against the dollar, up 4.40 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds rose 1.3 points to 3.269 percent, and the return on the benchmark U.S. 10-year government bonds dropped 1.6 points to 4.013 percent.

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