SEOUL: South Korean shares took a breather on Wednesday as foreign investors took profits from the market’s recent gains, mostly in large tech stocks.
Traders were also cautious ahead of China’s third-quarter GDP data on Thursday, amid forecasts that South Korea’s top export market is starting to lose some of its robust growth momentum. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed down 0.1 percent at 2,482.91 points, but has still risen around 3.7 percent so far this month, encouraged by strong earnings reports and global equity market gains. Offshore investors trimmed a net 32.1 billion won ($28.43 million) worth of KOSPI shares on the day. Market heavyweight SK Hynix ended down 3.1 percent.The South Korean won edged up. The won was quoted at 1,129.9 to the dollar at the conclusion of onshore trade, up 0.2 percent versus Tuesday’s close of 1,132.5.
