April 19, 2024
Market Now
Seoul shares down 0.64 pct on profit-taking
[THE INVESTOR] South Korean stocks ended lower on Feb. 24 as investors sold tech stocks for profit-taking.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 13.51 points, or 0.64 percent, to 2,094.12.
The broad index bucked overnight gains on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 0.17 percent.
“Profit-taking by investors on technology stocks, such as Samsung Electronics and chipmaker SK hynix, was to blame for losses in the main index,” said Kim Ye-eun, an analyst at Cape Investment & Securities.
Most large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.
Top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 1.37 percent to 148,000 won and state-run utility firm Korea Electric Power Corp. was up 0.46 percent to 43,550 won.
Meanwhile, market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 2.54 percent to 1,911,000 won and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix was down 5.38 percent to 47,500 won.
The local currency closed at 1,131.50 won against the US dollar, up 5.80 won from the previous session‘s close.
