Seoul shares fall 0.75 pct on eurozone debt woes

(ATTN: ADDS bond yields at bottom)
SEOUL, May 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks declined 0.75 percent on Monday as investor sentiment was undercut by the lingering eurozone sovereign crisis, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 15.9 points to 2,104.18, the third straight session of losses. Trading volume was moderate at 269.5 million shares worth 6.15 trillion won (US$5.64 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 471 to 329.
"Volatility in the commodity market and the eurozone debt crisis weighed on the Seoul stock market. Foreign investors unloaded local stocks amid increased appetite for safe assets," said Bae Sung-young, a market analyst at Hyundai Securities Co.
Bae said the Seoul bourse may trade weaker this week on foreign selling, but a heavy sell-off is not likely to come.
Concerns about a delay in rescue measures for debt-ridden Greece increased after International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was charged with sexual assault on Sunday, raising questions about the IMF's leadership.
The arrest of the IMF head pounded the euro against the U.S. dollar on concerns that meetings among European finance chiefs to be held until Tuesday may fail to resolve Greece's debt problems.
Foreign investors remained net sellers of local stocks for three sessions on end by dumping a net 509.3 billion won worth of Seoul shares on the main bourse.
Tech, bank and auto shares suffered losses. No. 5 lender Korea Exchange Bank fell 6.03 percent to 9,350 won on growing prospects that Hana Financial Group's deal to buy the lender may fall apart amid a delay in regulatory approval. Hana Financial Group lost 3.57 percent to 36,500 won.
Top automaker Hyundai Motor shed 2.4 percent to 224,000 won, and its affiliate Kia Motors declined 2.5 percent to 70,300 won.
Market leader Samsung Electronics shed 1.64 percent to 901,000 won, and chip giant Hynix Semiconductor inched down 0.29 percent to 34,400 won.
But refiners gained ground on technical rebounds. Top oil refinery SK Innovation rose 2.15 percent to 214,000 won, and its rival S-Oil jumped 4.92 percent to 138,500 won.
U.S. stocks closed lower on Friday due to the eurozone debt concerns. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.79 percent, and the tech-focused Nasdaq composite declined 1.21 percent.
The local currency ended at 1,091.20 won to the dollar, down 4.4 won from Friday's close, as offshore investors sold local stocks, dealers said.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher following the central bank's decision to freeze the key rate on Friday. The yield on three-year Treasuries fell 0.05 percentage point to 3.61 percent and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds lost 0.04 percentage point to 3.97 percent.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr