South Korean stocks closed lower Tuesday as top exporters on the main bourse marked losses amid mixed Chinese industrial data for the month, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 10.36 points, or 0.51 percent, to 2,028.91. Trading volume was high at 421 million shares worth 4.59 trillion won ($4.4 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 505 to 299.

Analysts said Seoul shares closed lower as top exporters, such as Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor, lost ground, with rising concerns over China, the largest trading partner for export-oriented South Korea.

Shares of Samsung Electronics closed at a 52-week low of 1.16 million won on the main bourse, down 2.27 percent from the previous trading session as its third-quarter earnings outlook turned grimmer. The firm hit its peak on Jan. 3, 2013, at 1.58 million won.

Hyundai Motor, which suffered a sharp decline last week, closed 2.05 percent lower at 191,500 won. It touched 189,500 won during intraday trading, also the lowest in 52 weeks.

Hyundai Motor last week won the bid to buy a 79,345-square-meter plot of land in southern Seoul owned by state power provider Korea Electric Power Corp. The automaker committed 10.55 trillion won to the purchase, raising market concerns that it would hurt the company’s liquidity.

Earlier in the trading session, British-based HSBC estimated the Purchasing Managers Index for Chinese manufactures at 50.5 for September, higher than market expectations but still struggling around the meaningful level of 50, with subindexes, including employment, giving a mixed picture.

The PMI is an index that measures the health of a country’s manufacturing sector. A reading of 50 or above represents an expansion of the sector from the previous month, while a reading below the figure represents a contraction.

“Seoul shares traded lower as the slowing Chinese economy and the weak Japanese yen continued to emerge as major drags on investors’ sentiment,” said Park Jung-woo, an analyst from Samsung Securities Co.

Foreigners sold a net 244 billion won, while retail investors offloaded a net 26.4 billion won. Institutions bought more shares than they sold at 265 billion won.

Top portal operator Naver gained 5.57 percent to 834,000 won after trading lower in the morning. (Yonhap)