Seoul shares closed down Thursday, as the possibility of continued rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve dented market sentiment. The local currency rose against the US dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 11.97 points, or 0.46 percent, to close at 2,563.11.

Trading volume was high at 938 million shares worth 12.2 trillion won ($9.2 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 647 to 231.

Foreign investors bought a net 156 billion won worth of stocks, while institutions and retail investors offloaded stocks valued at a net 162 billion won.

Overnight, Wall Street closed little changed following the release of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, Fed officials' hawkish comments and a string of mixed corporate earnings, including Tesla and Morgan Stanley.

The Federal Reserve's Beige Book, released Wednesday, showed inflation and employment slowed in 12 Fed districts, and loan demand decreased.

Fed officials, however, still signaled another rate hike is coming at their rate-setting meeting on May 3-4 to try to wrestle down inflation to their 2 percent target.

In Seoul, most big-cap stocks lost ground.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics shed 0.31 percent to close at 65,300 won, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix declined 0.57 percent to 87,700 won. LG Electronics lost 2.04 percent to 110,600 won.

Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor inched down 0.57 percent to 192,500 won, and its smaller affiliate Kia fell 1.52 percent to 84,100 won.

Major battery maker LG Energy Solution declined 0.34 percent to 580,000 won, and its smaller rival Samsung SDI shed 1.19 percent to 749,000 won.

Among the few gainers, LG Chem advanced 1.27 percent to 800,000 won, and internet giant Naver inched up 0.1 percent to 191,600 won.

The local currency ended at 1,322.8 won against the US dollar, up 2.9 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)