Stocks lose ground, breaking two-session winning streak

Shares finished lower Wednesday despite overnight Wall Street gains as foreign investors locked in profits following a two-session winning streak.

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,843.29 points on Wednesday, down 0.80 percent, or 22.80 points, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Shares finished lower Wednesday despite overnight Wall Street gains as foreign investors locked in profits following a two-session winning streak. The local currency rose in value against the dollar.

The Kospi shed 22.80 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 2,843.29. The Kosdaq slipped 10.20 points, or 1.21 percent, to 829.41.

Trade volume was slightly heavy at 534.4 million shares worth 13.6 trillion won ($9.85 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 460 to 409. Foreign investors dumped local shares worth 261.4 billion won, offsetting retail investors and institutions' combined net buying of 248.9 billion won.

Overnight, Wall Street shares rose on increased expectations of a rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.9 percent to hit a fresh high, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite gained 0.2 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.

The Kospi's decline came after gains in the past two sessions.

Kang Jae-hyun, an analyst at SK Securities, said the main index will likely face headwinds on the way up to the 2,950 mark.

“Expectations for a rate cut by the Fed in September, and possibly an additional cut within the year, have already been reflected in the market,” Kang said.

The Seoul stock market lost ground overall, led by tech and automotive losses.

Samsung Electronics shed 1.14 percent to end at 86,700 won, SK hynix plummeted 5.36 percent to 220,500 won and Hyundai Motor fell 2.19 percent to 268,500 won.

Battery shares also lost ground. LG Energy Solution went down 2.89 percent to 336,500 won and Samsung SDI lost 1.11 percent to 356,000 won.

Shipbuilders also enjoyed brisk trading, with Samsung Heavy Industries surging 6.32 percent to 10,930 won and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries climbing 2.21 percent to 171,200 won.

The local currency was trading at 1,381.5 won against the dollar as of 3:30 p.m., down 3.4 won from the previous session.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds rose 1.4 basis points to 3.049 percent, and the return on the benchmark U.S. 10-year benchmark bonds fell 7.4 basis points to 4.159 percent.

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