Seoul stocks close down 0.51 pct on tech setbacks

(ATTN: ADDS more info in para 9; ADDS bond yields at bottom)
SEOUL, Jan. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks closed down 0.09 percent after a
volatile session Tuesday as investors dumped tech shares, analysts said. The
local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 1.56 points to
1,710.22, snapping its three-day winning streak. Volume was light at 378 million
shares worth 5.58 trillion won (US$4.95 billion), with losers outnumbering
gainers 446 to 340.
"Institutional investors went on a massive sell-off after gains for three
straight sessions," said Kwak Joong-bo, an analyst at Hana Daetoo Securities.
"The Seoul bourse ran into technical resistance after reaching the highest point
in more than a year."
Bolstered by foreign and retail buying, the index got off to a strong start,
recording a new four-month peak at its intra-day high of 1,723.22, but it soon
fell into an up-and-down mode on profit-taking, Kwak added.
Most shares ended in negative territory, with tech companies driving the downturn.
Electronics giant Samsung Electronics fell 2.37 percent to 823,000 won, while
Hynix Semiconductor, the world's second-largest chipmaker, shed 1.16 percent to
25,600 won.
Auto shares also lost ground on concerns that a strong local currency will hurt
export earnings. No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor plunged 3.24 percent to 104,500
won.
Financial shares bucked the downward trend on bargain hunting after falls in the
previous session. Top financial firm KB Financial Group gained 1.07 percent to
56,500 won and Korea Exchange Bank gained 0.37 percent to 13,550 won.
POSCO, South Korea's leading steelmaker, rose 1 percent to 604,000 won, on
reports that U.S. investor Warren Buffett has expressed an interest in buying
more shares of the company.
The won finished at 1,127.50 won against the U.S. dollar, down 3.00 won from
Monday's close, as offshore investors snapped up the greenback.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on the
benchmark three-year Treasury note shed 0.04 percentage point to 4.24 percent,
and the return on five-year government bonds fell 0.04 percentage point to 4.80
percent.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
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