South Korea: Stocks down on report of China pessimism over trade deal

[SEOUL] South Korean shares slipped on Tuesday on a media report that the United States and China remained poles apart in phasing out tariffs.

The Seoul stock market's main KOSPI ended down 7.45 points, or 0.34%, at 2,153.24.

Chinese officials were troubled by US President Donald Trump's reluctance to roll back tariffs, which China believed the United States had agreed to, CNBC reported, quoting a government source.

In addition to the disagreement between the two countries, Hong Kong's intensifying protests also triggered investors' anxiety, said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.

Foreigners were net sellers of US$10.80 million worth of shares on the main board.

The KOSPI has risen 5.50 per cent so far this year, and gained 6.9 per cent in the previous 30 trading sessions.

The trading volume during the session in the KOSPI index was 814.21 million shares and, of the total traded issues of 906, the number of advancing shares was 280.

REUTERS