Seoul stocks snap 3-day rise on profit-taking; won posts sharpest increase in 3 yrs

Korean stocks closed lower Wednesday, snapping a three-day winning streak as retail investors moved to take profit following a recent rally of tech and shipbuilding shares. The local currency rose at the sharpest pace against the U.S. dollar in over three years following strong verbal intervention by foreign exchange (FX) authorities. After starting higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed 8.7 points, or 0.21 percent, lower at 4,108.62. Trade volume was moderate at 351.5 million shares worth 11.95 trillion won ($8.2 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 481 to 378. Despite overnight gains on Wall Street led by stronger-than-expected U.S. growth data and a bullish run of blue chip tech shares, retail investors here unloaded 717.5 billion won on profit-taking sentiment. Foreigners and institutions continued their buying spree, purchasing a net 520 billion won and 200 billion won worth of local shares, respectively. The Korean won was quoted at 1,449.8 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., up 33.8 won from the previous session's close, marking the biggest