South Korean stocks slipped 0.1 percent Friday as investors took a wait-and-see stance to watch U.S. budget talks, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dipped 1.95 points to 1,932.9. Trading volume was moderate at 330.3 million shares worth 4.43 trillion won ($4.09 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 410 to 367.

“The fiscal cliff woes have widely dominated the stock market and investors want clearer signs of U.S. political determination to avoid it,” said Lee Seung-woo, an analyst at Daewoo Securities Co.

“They are afraid of another double dip recession stemming from a possible fiscal cliff as the world’s largest economy has experienced in the 2008 financial crisis.”

Therefore, the index will move up and down in accordance with the negotiations in Washington, according to Lee.

Foreigners scooped up a net 87.1 billion won of local shares, and institutions bought a net 100.1 billion won.

Shares closed mixed, with tech giant Samsung Electronics slipping 0.57 percent to 1,406,000 won and LG Display, the biggest supplier of Apple’s iPad sequences, gaining 0.58 percent to 34,600 won.

Woori Finance Holdings, the largest financial group by assets, rose 2.11 percent to 10,150 won and Shinhan Financial Group went up 0.43 percent to 34,650 won. (Yonhap News)