Seoul stocks took a breather on June 19 after a six-day surge, closing lower on profit-taking amid revived Iran uncertainties.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 11.42 points, or 0.13 percent, to 9,052.42 after rising as high as 9,385.59. Trade volume reached 511.1 million shares worth 65.3 trillion won.
Retail investors were net buyers with 1.7 trillion won, while institutional and foreign investors net sold a combined 1.6 trillion won. Samsung Electronics fell 2.34 percent to 354,000 won, while SK hynix rose 2.94 percent to 2,764,000 won.
Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said investors are anticipating that a chip bottleneck could push demand and prices. The Korean won was quoted at 1,527 won against the U.S. dollar, down 0.1 won from the previous session.
