South Korean stocks retreated for a second straight session Tuesday, weighed by concerns about corporate earnings and a surge in new coronavirus outbreaks. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) decreased 22.51 points, or 0.96 percent, to close at 2,317.76 points.

Trading volume was relatively small at about 374 million shares worth some 6.3 trillion won ($4.8 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 772 to 129.

Institutions sold a net 239 billion won, and foreigners offloaded 44 billion won, while retail investors bought 268 billion won.

The KOSPI came off to a lackluster start, tracking overnight falls on Wall Street amid woes over a global recession and a semi-lockdown in Macao due to the pandemic.

Overnight, Wall Street tumbled as steep inflation growth and a global energy crunch fanned investors' concerns about lackluster corporate earnings in the second quarter.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite sank 2.26 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.52 percent.

Investors are cautious about the US consumer price index (CPI) data, a gauge for inflation, and the Bank of Korea's rate decision slated for Wednesday.

"The market consensus is on higher US inflation in June compared to that in May, making investors step aside from the uncertainties," Cape Investment & Securities analyst Na Jeong-hwan said.

The new COVID-19 cases also pushed the investors to the sidelines. South Korea's new COVID-19 cases soared to a two-month high of over 37,000 on Tuesday, with health authorities mulling a new set of antivirus measures.

Most large caps closed lower in Seoul.

Market behemoth Samsung Electronics dropped 1.19 percent to 58,100 won, with No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix losing 0.43 percent to 93,300 won.

Internet portal operator Naver dipped 2.91 percent to 233,500 won, and chemical giant LG Chem slid 1.53 percent to 514,000 won. Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor closed unchanged at 179,000 won.

Among gainers, battery giant LG Energy Solution grew 1.52 percent to 401,000 won, and bio heavyweight Celltrion gained 0.81 percent to 187,500 won as the country's COVID-19 cases resurged.

The local currency closed at 1,312.1 won against the US dollar, sharply down 8.2 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)