The KOSPI closed lower for a second consecutive session, ending at 6,870.81 on the 29th after foreign investors sold a net 2.9030 trillion won of shares on the main board. The index fell 18.93 points, or 0.27%, after opening down 0.66% at 6,844.41, briefly turning positive before losses widened in the afternoon and late buying recovered much of the decline. Retail investors bought a net 1.1432 trillion won and institutions purchased 121.1 billion won. Samsung Electronics rose 0.93% despite trading on its ex-dividend date, recovering after plunging more than 5% the previous day. The ex-dividend date is when new buyers no longer receive the upcoming dividend. Investors who purchased the shares through the previous session qualified for the quarterly dividend ahead of the record date on the 30th. Market sentiment was weakened by a rise in the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield to 5.24%, higher international oil prices following stalled United States-Iran negotiations and declines in U.S. technology shares. Nvidia gained 1.68% after announcing a record $150 billion share buyback plan, while Micron, SanDisk, AMD, Intel and Qualcomm fell. The KOSDAQ advanced 0.38% to 849.80 for its third straight winning session.