South Korean shares are expected to move in a tight range next week due to a possible US rate hike next month and the ongoing trade dispute between Washington and Beijing, analysts here said Saturday.

Market watchers forecast the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) to trade between 2,459 and 2,530 in the coming week after shedding 1.2 percent this week to close at 2,461.38 on Friday.

"Investors will likely adopt a wait-and-see attitude as the US Federal Reserve is set to raise its key interest rate in June and the government has yet to come up with any specific plans to boost economic ties with North Korea following the inter-Korean summit last week," Lee Jae-seon, analyst at KTB Investment & Securites Co., said in his research note.

The domestic stock market will remain under the influence of global macroeconomic factors for the time being before the Seoul government announces any concrete plans for economic cooperation with the North or the Washington-Pyongyang summit takes place later this month or early next month, he said.

This week, sharp declines in healthcare stocks dealt a blow to the KOSPI index as Samsung BioLogics Co., the biopharmaceutical unit of Samsung Group, plunged 29 percent, underperforing the broader index's 2.1 percent loss, following the financial regulator's announcement that it had violated accounting rules.

Foreigners and institutions sold a combined 1.165 trillion won ($1.1 billion) worth of local stocks this week. Individuals bought a net 1.122 trillion won, keeping the index from falling further. (Yonhap)