South Korean shares closed lower Monday amid fears of a second wave of new coronavirus cases at home and abroad, reducing investors' appetite for risks. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 14.59 points, or 0.68 percent, to close at 2,126.73. Trading volume was moderate at about 779 million shares worth some 9.9 trillion won ($8.1 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 610 to 252.

Foreigners sold a net 251 billion won, while retail investors purchased a net 432 billion won. Institutions offloaded a net 197 billion won.

The drop followed recent spikes in the number of new infections.

"The fears of resurgence in COVID-19 infections in the US seem to have increased (investors') appetite for selling," Kiwoom Securities analyst Seo Sang-young said.

Investor sentiment worsened as the World Health Organization reported on Sunday (Geneva time) that there had been 183,020 new infections globally in the preceding 24 hours, the largest single-day hike in coronavirus cases.

South Korea added 67 new cases Saturday, the highest in 23 days, and 48 new infections Sunday, raising the accumulative total to 12,421.

The country's daily tally sharply dropped to a nearly one-month low of 17 on Monday. Investors continued to remain cautious amid signs of slowing exports.

Outbound shipments fell 7.5 percent in the first 20 days of June from the same period last year, with the daily average plunging 16.2 percent on-year over the cited period, according to earlier reports.

Most large caps traded lower, but stocks related to untact businesses made a bullish run.

Internet giant Naver spiked 8.22 percent to 270,000 won, with its rival Kakao soaring 2.98 percent to 274,000 won.

Market kingpin Samsung Electronics lost 1.70 percent to 52,000 won while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix dipped 0.59 percent to 84,900 won.

Top pharmaceutical firm Samsung BioLogics slipped 1 percent to 793,000 won, and leading chemical maker LG Chem fell 1.17 percent to 506,000 won.

The local currency closed at 1,215.80 won against the US dollar, down 6.20 won from the previous session's close. 

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 0.2 basis point to 0.846 percent and the return on the benchmark five-year government bond slipped 0.1 basis point to 1.124 percent. (Yonhap)