Seoul stocks fall as foreign profit-taking, Samsung earnings caution weigh on investor sentiment - The Korea Times

Seoul stocks fell on Wednesday as foreign investors sold shares across the board and sentiment turned cautious ahead of Samsung Electronics’ preliminary third-quarter earnings report, following Wall Street’s record-setting run. The won strengthened 3.2 won versus the U.S. dollar to close at 1,340.4. The benchmark KOSPI opened at 6,864.25, down 1.11%, and slipped further, ending at 6,803.90, down 1.98%. Foreigners were net sellers of 2.61 trillion won, while institutions sold 672.6 billion won; retail investors bought 2.5608 trillion won net. Analysts pointed to thinning domestic liquidity versus the first half of the year. Semiconductor bellwethers weighed: SK hynix fell 2.82% to 1.72 million won, and Samsung dropped 1.29% to 268,500 won despite earlier gains, with investors also wary of the won’s recent strength.