South Korean stocks edged down 0.41 percent Wednesday ahead of major events in Europe and the United States in the coming weeks, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 8.03 point to close at 1,935.19. Trading volume was moderate at 418.4 million shares worth 4.04 trillion won ($3.56 billion), with losers outpacing winners 475 to 332.

“There will be no big liquidity supply, corporate earnings or political events in the near future to affect the market until the end of this month,” said Kim Soo-young, a senior market analyst at KB Investment & Securities Co.

“Investors are taking a wait-and-see stance before catching clear hints of progress in calming the debt crisis in Europe and boosting the slowing economy in the U.S.”

An executive meeting of the European Central Bank is highly anticipated to offer decisive measures to handle the region’s deadlocked debt crisis, including purchasing Spanish and Italian bonds.

Investors will also watch whether the Federal Open Market Committee comes up with a third round of monetary easing next month.

Most shares closed in negative territory, led by losses in techs, steelmakers and shipbuilders.

Tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics fell 1.4 percent to 1,264,000 won and SK hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker, slid 1.08 percent to 22,850 won. However, LG Electronics, South Korea’s No. 2 handset manufacturer, rose 1.83 percent to 66,700 won on brisks sales of its smartphones.

Steelmakers and shipbuilders were among the biggest losers,

with steel giant POSCO dropping 0.91 percent to 382,000 won and the

world’s largest shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries tumbling 2.78 percent to 244,500 won.

Korea Zinc, however, the world’s second-largest zinc smelter, jumped 2.5 percent to 390,000 won thanks to a recent hike in gold prices. (Yonhap News)