Seoul stocks end 0.57 pct lower on recovery jitters

(ATTN: ADDS bond yields at bottom)
SEOUL, June 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks finished 0.57 percent lower Thursday as economic recovery woes triggered hefty foreign selling, analysts said. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 11.93 points to 2,076.7, extending its losing run to the sixth straight session. Trading volume was light at 280.4 million shares, worth 7.2 trillion won (US$6.6 billion). However, gainers outnumbered losers 455 to 352.
The fall came after the U.S. Fed's economic report called "Beige Book" showed a grim state of current economic conditions on Wednesday, adding fuel to concerns over an economic slowdown.
"The Beige Book gave a signal that the U.S. economy is slowing down, resulting in continued share falls there," Hyundai Securities analyst Bae Sung-young said. "Tracking the bearish U.S. market, the KOSPI is likely to show sluggish performance during June without particular market-moving news," Bae said.
Big-cap exporters, electronics makers and auto companies were the biggest losers after foreign investors sold off a net 657.4 billion won.
Electronics giant Samsung Electronics slid 1.37 percent to 865,000 won while top carmaker Hyundai Motor shed 2.16 percent to 226,500 won.
Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's top vessel maker, dived 3.43 percent to 450,000 won on market speculations that the company may bid for a major stake in computer memory chip maker Hynix. Hyundai Motor was also rumored to jump into the race to buy Hynix, which was previously an affiliate of the Hyundai family group.
Taking over the chip maker may dent financial health of potential bidders, the Hyundai Securities analyst said.
Economic recovery jitters also weighed down on banking shares, sending KB Financial Group, the biggest banking giant, 2.08 percent lower to 51,900 won.
Steelmakers, however, ended sharply higher across the board after the commerce ministry unveiled a plan to invest 150 billion won in order to commercialize a technology to reduce carbon dioxide in producing steel by 2020.
Top steelmaker POSCO rose 1.04 percent to 437,500 won with No. 2 player Hyundai Steel jumping 2.94 percent to 122,500 won. Smaller rival Dongkuk Steel Mill hiked 6.14 percent to end at 40,650 won.
The local currency ended at 1,082.9 won to the U.S. dollar, down 2.8 won from Wednesday's close, on heightened risk aversion sentiment, dealers said.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasuries rose 0.05 percentage point to 3.57 percent and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds also gained 0.05 percentage point to 3.85 percent.
pbr@yna.co.kr