Shares decline with investors antsy ahead of U.S. election

Korean shares declined for a second consecutive day, with the Kospi and Kosdaq falling as investors remained cautious ahead of the U.S. presidential election.

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,576.88 points on Tuesday, down 0.47 percent, or 12.09 points, from the previous trading session. [NEWS1]

Shares ended lower on Tuesday as investors treaded water ahead of the U.S. presidential election. The won sharply lost ground against the dollar.

The Kospi fell 12.09 points, or 0.47 percent, to close at 2,576.88. The Kosdaq shed 2.27 points, or 0.3 percent, to 751.81.

Trade volume was slim at 306.1 million shares worth 7.6 trillion won ($5.5 billion), with winners outpacing losers 514 to 356.

Individual investors purchased a net 388.9 billion won worth of local stocks, while foreigners and institutions sold 143.6 billion won and 286.1 billion won, respectively.

Overnight, Wall Street closed lower on heightened uncertainty ahead of the U.S. presidential election Tuesday. Former President and Republican nominee Donald Trump is neck-and-neck in the polls with Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Analysts said the Kospi dropped as caution rose ahead of major U.S. events this week, including the presidential election and the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting, that they expect to greatly impact on the global economy.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics slid 1.87 percent to 57,600 won while its chipmaking rival, SK hynix, dropped 0.41 percent to 193,200 won.

Battery maker LG Energy Solution fell 1.41 percent to 420,000 won, and its smaller rival, Samsung SDI, plunged 5.93 percent to 317,500 won.

Bio shares also lost ground, with Samsung Biologics down 0.88 percent to 1.01 million won and Celltrion down 1.6 percent to 184,400 won.

Automaker Hyundai Motor fell 0.69 percent to 215,000 won and its affiliate Kia dropped 0.41 percent to 97,000 won.

Steel firm Posco Holdings also retreated 1.59 percent to 339,500 won.

But Korea Zinc, the world's largest smelter, which is currently embroiled a management control battle, soared more than 15.85 percent to 1.26 million won.

The local currency was trading at 1,378.6 won against the greenback, up 7.7 won from the previous session.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds fell 1.9 basis points to 2.916 percent, and the return on the benchmark U.S. 10-year government bond dropped 11.4 basis points to 4.279 percent.

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