Seoul: Stocks slip on offshore selling, won inches up

[SEOUL] South Korean shares edged lower early on Friday as foreign investors took profits after Seoul stocks hit a record high on Thursday.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) was down 0.4 per cent at 2,287.87 points as of 0223 GMT.

Offshore investors sold a net 270.4 billion Korean won (S$338.01 million) worth of Kospi shares near mid-session, weighing on the index.

"Today's stock movement can be seen as a technical adjustment after marking a large gain again on Thursday," said Cho Byung-Hyun, an analyst at Yuanta Securities.

Mr Cho said that the index had been fluctuating lately because of investors' widely varied views, especially among foreign investors.

"Some seem to be waiting for the stocks to edge down so that they can come right in to purchase stocks, and therefore current volatility is likely to persist for a while," added Mr Cho.

The Kospi was set to mark the biggest weekly percentage gain since mid-March.

Decliners outnumbered advancers 515 to 245.

Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics rose 1.1 per cent while SK Hynix was down 1.3 per cent.

Shares in Netmarble Games Corp, South Korea's largest mobile games maker, debuted on the stock exchange on Friday above their initial public offer price.

The South Korean won was slightly higher versus a weaker US dollar at 1,126.8, up 0.1 per cent compared to Thursday's close of 1,127.9.

June futures on three-year treasury bonds gained 0.02 point to 109.28.

REUTERS