Seoul shares closed lower Monday as SK hynix plunged by nearly 5 percent and battery makers remained in negative terrain.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 19.53 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,764.73.

Trade volume was moderate at 580.2 million shares worth 10.8 trillion won ($7.8 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 637 to 233.

Foreigners and institutions sold local shares worth 386 billion won and 94.4 billion won, respectively, while retail investors purchased 464.7 billion won.

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.04 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 fell 0.16 percent and 0.18 percent, respectively, as big-cap tech shares, such as Nvidia, took a breather following a rally.

Experts said the KOSPI declined as foreign investors unloaded stocks tracking losses on Wall Street.

In Seoul, tech behemoth Samsung Electronics gained 0.75 percent to 80,600 won, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix plummeted 4.7 percent to 223,000 won following artificial intelligence chip giant Nvidia's slump.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution fell 0.6 percent to 331,000 won, and its smaller rival Samsung SDI retreated 2.96 percent to 377,500 won.

Bio and IT shares were mixed.

Bio giant Samsung Biologics dropped 2.13 percent to 734,000 won, but Celltrion advanced 1.07 percent to 179,000 won.

Internet portal operator Naver rose 0.78 percent to 168,900 won, while Kakao, the operator of the country's top mobile messenger, lost 2.55 percent to 42,050 won.

Gamemaker Krafton shot down 7.07 percent to 276,000 won and SK Square plunged 6.46 percent 91,200 won.

But the shipping sector was strong, with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries up 3.9 percent to 152,000 won, and HD Korea Shipbuilding up 1.78 percent to 154,300 won.

The local currency ended at 1,389.00 won against the US dollar, down 0.7 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)