Seoul shares barely budged before the 2,000 mark level Friday as mixed economic data and weaker-than-expected earnings undermined investor sentiment.

Analysts projected the benchmark KOSPI to stay above the 2,000 level next week under the scenario that the U.S. jobs indicator continues to improve.

The KOSPI lost 0.6 percent to close at 1,972.34, ending a relatively stable week after a three day winning streak. The junior KOSDAQ gained 0.1 percent to 522.59. The local currency traded flat, gaining 0.1 won against the U.S. dollar to 1,118.3 at the close.

“Investors are hesitating to turn to net buyers because economic indicators have been mixed in the past week. Although earnings for the fourth quarter beat expectations in some, others, including shipping were quite disappointing,” Kim Cheol-joong, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities said.

“But the momentum is building up and the KOSPI will trade beyond 2,000 mark next week as more positive jobs data come in from the U.S.,” he added.

The index opened lower after the U.S. stocks traded in a narrow range over night. The Labor Department said weekly unemployment claims fell more than expected by 12,000, to 367,000. Asian indexes are waiting for a more closely-watched jobs indicator in the U.S. due Friday for more clues over the state of the world’s largest economy.

“The index has been struggling to reach the 2,000 mark but many are expecting it to settle at 2,000 to 2,100 range within this month,” Lee Jae-man, a research fellow at Tong Yang Securities said.

Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipbuilder, tumbled 7.7 percent after its earnings came in weaker than expected. Hyundai Mobis, LG Display, Hynix Semiconductors fell more than 3 percent each. Foreign investors turned net sellers, pushing the index down to an intra-day low of 1,960 mid-day. Only Shinhan Financial and Samsung Life gained from the top 10 companies by market capitalization.

By Cynthia J. Kim (cynthiak@heraldcorp.com)