Seoul, Nov 5 South Korean stocks ended lower for the second day on Tuesday as investors treaded water ahead of the US presidential election. The local currency sharply lost ground against the US dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 12.09 points, or 0.47 per cent, to close at 2,576.88.
Trade volume was slim at 306.1 million shares worth 7.6 trillion won ($5.5 billion), with winners outpacing losers 514 to 356, reports Yonhap news agency.
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 US presidential election on Tuesday (US time), where former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are neck and neck in the polls.
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, expected to have a big impact on the global economy.
Tech behemoth Samsung Electronics slid 1.87 per cent to 57,600 won, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix dropped 0.41 per cent to 193,200 won.
Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution lost 1.41 per cent 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 per cent to 1.01 million won and Celltrion down 1.6 per cent to 184,400 won.
Steel giant POSCO Holdings also retreated 1.59 per cent to 339,500 won.
But Korea Zinc, the world's largest smelter in the middle of a management control battle, soared over 15.85 per cent to 1.26 million won.
The local currency was trading at 1,378.6 won against the greenback, down 7.7 won from the previous session.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys declined 1.7 basis points to 2.918 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds inched down 2.3 basis points to 2.971 per cent.
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