South Korean stocks lost more than 1 percent on Friday as foreign investors swayed by jitters on Iraqi unrest dumped shares on the main bourse, analysts said. The South Korean won rose slightly against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 1.03 percent, or 20.80 points, to 1,990.85. The trading volume was moderate at 220.59 million shares worth 3.51 trillion won (US$3.4 billion) with losers leading gainers 464 to 343.