S. Korean shares slide after touching this year's high on rate cut

South Korean shares ended lower on Friday amid demand for profit-taking as the main index touched this year's high in the previous trading, caused by the central bank's unexpected interest rate cut.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 6.54 points, or 0.32 percent, to settle at 2,017.63. Trading volume stood at 399.3 million shares worth 4.71 trillion won (4.04 billion U.S. dollars).

Investors locked in recent profits as the KOSPI hit the intra-trading high this year on Thursday when the Bank of Korea (BOK) lowered its benchmark interest rate to a new record low of 1.25 percent to boost the lackluster economy and help restructure the troubled shipping firms and shipbuilders.

Foreign and retail investors offloaded shares worth 28 billion won and 116 billion won respectively, while local financial institutions bought a net 91 billion won worth of stocks.

Global crude oil prices turned downward overnight, boosting worries about price falls in exported oil products. Western Texas Intermediate for July delivery traded at 50.56 dollars per barrel in New York, up 1.3 percent from the previous day. It resulted in overnight losses in U.S. stocks.

Investors refrained from taking positions aggressively ahead of the June monetary policy meeting by the U.S. Federal Reserve next week. Bank of Japan (BOJ)'s rate-setting meeting is scheduled for next week.

Market watchers forecast the profit-taking demand would be short-lived, recommending a buy-on-dip strategy to purchase undervalued stocks.

Large-cap shares ended mixed. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics declined 1.7 percent, marking the first fall in seven sessions amid the profit-taking demand. The No.1 cosmetics maker AmorePacific slumped 3.3 percent, and top life insurer Samsung Life Insurance dipped 1 percent.

Leading banking group Shinhan Financial Group lost 1.4 percent, but the state-run power supplier Korea Electric Power Corp. advanced 2 percent. Top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis gained 0.6 percent, and Samsung C&T, the construction unit of Samsung Group, added 1.2 percent.

Lotte Group shares lost ground as prosecutors raided the group's headquarters and the offices of some of its affiliates on charges of creating illegal slush funds in trading assets between affiliates.

South Korea's currency finished at 1,165.5 won against the greenback, down 9.5 won from Thursday's close.

Bond prices ended higher. Yields on the liquid three-year treasury notes fell 2.3 basis points to 1.322 percent, and returns on the benchmark 10-year government bonds dipped 0.8 basis points to 1.652 percent. Enditem