South Korean stocks ended slightly lower on March 19 as foreign and institutional investors moved to lock in profits from recent gains, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.

The benchmark Kospi fell 1.87 points, or 0.09 percent, to close at 2,177.62. Trade volume was moderate at 314 million shares worth 3.8 trillion won ($3.40 billion), with the number of losers outnumbering gainers 450 to 359.

Foreigners and institutions offloaded a net 12.9 billion won worth and 15.8 billion won worth of local stocks, respectively. Individuals were net buyers by snatching up 38.5 billion won worth of shares.

The local currency closed at 1,130.60 won against the greenback, up 1.50 won from the previous session’s close.

By Ram Garikipati and newswires (ram@heraldcorp.com)