An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Friday. (Yonhap)
An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Friday. (Yonhap)

South Korean stocks ended a five-day winning streak Friday as investors moved to lock in profits from recent gains mainly in tech shares. The local currency fell against the US dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 6.12 points, or 0.24 percent, to close at 2,515.78.

Trade volume was moderate at 365.58 million shares worth 9.43 trillion won ($6.43 billion), with winners outnumbering losers 462 to 406.

The index opened higher and had moved within a tight range before turning lower on selling by foreign and institutional investors.

Foreigners and institutions sold a net 39.62 billion won and 396.24 billion won worth of shares, respectively, while retail investors bought a net 337.46 billion won worth of shares.

US markets were closed Thursday to observe a National Day of Mourning for former President Jimmy Carter.

"Following recent sharp gains, short-term volatility is expected, though the market would set the tone for traders, given the KOSPI's valuation and other factors," Lee Kyung-min, an analyst from Daishin Securities, said.

Tech giant Samsung Electronics shed 1.43 percent to 55,300 won, and chip giant SK hynix went down 0.73 percent to 203,500 won.

Leading electric vehicle battery maker LG Energy Solution tumbled 2.79 percent to 348,500 won, and LG Chem dropped 1.61 percent to 245,000 won.

Major bio shares lost ground. Samsung Biologics decreased 0.6 percent to 1,000,000 won, and Celltrion inched down 0.22 percent to 185,100 won.

But carmakers finished markedly higher. Top automaker Hyundai Motor surged 6.1 percent to 226,000 won after announcing that it formed a strategic partnership with Nvidia for the development of advanced artificial intelligence technologies related to future mobility.

Its sister affiliate Kia jumped 2.23 percent to 105,600 won.

No. 1 portal operator Naver slid 0.25 percent to 202,000 won, while top steelmaker POSCO Holdings gained 0.38 percent to 262,000 won.

The local currency was quoted at 1,465.0 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 4.5 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)