South Korean stocks closed 0.9 percent lower on Monday as investors kept a wary eye on the debt-saddled eurozone while reacting cooly to improved U.S. data, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.

Moving in a tight range, the benchmark KOSPI fell 16.65 points to 1,826.49. Trading volume was moderate at 388.1 million shares worth 4.14 trillion won ($3.5 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 514 to 316.

“Investors have nothing to anticipate from the U.S. data as they’ve seen a series of upbeat numbers that don’t really mean much to them. The focus hangs solely on the series of meetings in the eurozone slated for this month,” said Choi Kwang-hyeok, an analyst at Hanwha Securities Co.

The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent and the labor market added 200,000 workers to payrolls in December. The leaders from Germany and France, the European region’s two superpowers, are set to hold a summit later in the day on debt sales by Italy and Spain.

In such a market climate, the KOSPI will likely continue in rangebound trading this week, Choi said.

Tech blue chips and steelmakers drove down the shares with market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. falling 2.31 percent to 1,016,000 won, extending its losing streak for a fourth straight session. Industry leader POSCO declined 1.82 percent to 378,500 won.

Telecoms lost ground with top mobile carrier SK Telecom shedding 1.82 percent to 135,000 won and its rival KT Corp. losing 1.63 percent to 33,150 won.

Financials were also bearish. The largest banking group Woori Financial Holdings retreated 1.92 percent to 9,210 won and No. 4 player Hana Financial Group Inc. slumped 2.43 percent to 34,100 won.

In contrast, defensive shares rose with the electricity supplier Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) gaining 1.29 percent to 27,400 won.

Ssangyong Motor Co., the country’s smallest automaker, surged by the daily limit of 15 percent to 6,790 won, after its biggest shareholder Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. announced late last week it will boost its investment in the company to fuel production.

The local currency ended at 1,163.65 won against the greenback, down 0.75 won from Friday’s close, as foreign investors fled for safer assets amid the continuing eurozone woes, dealers said. 

(Yonhap News)