South Korean stocks snapped a three-day winning streak Thursday on investors attempted to lock in profits from the recent gains. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) slipped 4.25 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 3,276.13 points.

Trading volume was moderate at about 671 million shares worth some 11.7 trillion won ($10.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 518 to 308.

Foreigners bought a net 70 billion won, while retail investors sold 260 billion won. Institutions purchased a net 189 billion won.

The Kospi got off to a solid start on strong advances in bio heavyweights, as the country's daily new coronavirus cases spiked back to the 1,700s despite the toughest-ever virus restrictions.

The stock index turned choppy as bio and tech gains waned toward the session's close.

"Investors seem to have sold stocks to profit from the gains made in the past couple of days," Mirae Asset Securities analyst Park Gwang-nam said.

Giant pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics increased 1 percent to 912,000 won, while Celltrion slipped 0.19 percent to 269,000 won.

Market kingpin Samsung Electronics lost 0.97 percent to 82,100 won, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix retreated 0.83 percent to 120,000 won.

Internet portal operator Naver climbed 2.19 percent to 442,500 won, with battery maker Samsung SDI gaining 3.49 percent to 771,000 won.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor decreased 0.89 percent to 771,000 won, but leading chemical firm LG Chem edged up 0.12 percent to 857,000 won.

The local currency closed at 1,143.7 won against the US dollar, down 0.1 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)