South Korean stocks closed almost flat Thursday as investors were worried that the Cypriot bailout could set a bad precedent for other troubled eurozone nations, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. 

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 0.08 points to finish at 1,993.52. Trading volume was moderate at 355.0 million shares worth 3.38 trillion won (US$3.05 billion) with gainers outstripping losers 409 to 385.

"The Cypriot bailout has left open the possibility for other eurozone countries like Italy to follow suit," said Kwak Joong-bo, an analyst at Samsung Securities Co. 

The South Korean government announced its economic stimulus plan for 2013 on Thursday, with a plan for a supplementary budget worth about 10 trillion won, but there were few surprising factors to move the market, Kwak added. 

The KOSPI reverted to end the session in positive terrain minutes before closing, but it trended downward for most of the trading. 

Foreigners and retail investors sold off 147.4 billion won and

32.1 billion won each, while institutions snapped up a net 187.1 billion won.

Shares pared losses toward the later session, led by foodmakers and utilities. Leading confectioner Orion soared 3.13 percent to 1,088,000 won and Korea Gas Corp. rose 1.75 percent to 69,800 won. 

Financial firms also closed in positive territory, with No. 3 Hana Financial Group climbing 1.55 percent to 39,200 won. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 0.4 percent to 1,510,000 won, but most other tech blue-chips finished bearish. 

The local currency ended at 1,112.70 won against the greenback, down 1.1 won from Wednesday's close, as foreigners sold off their holdings in local equities, dealers said. (Yonhap News)