SEOUL-- South Korean stocks ended their three-day winning streak Friday amid lingering tensions surrounding Ukraine and rising inflation risks. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index retreated 17.8 points, or 0.65 percent, to close at 2,739.85 points.

Trading volume was moderate at about 1.3 billion shares worth some 10.6 trillion won (US$8.7 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 489 to 363.

Institutions sold a net 782 billion won and foreigners offloaded 67 billion won, while retail investors bought 845 billion won.

After a lackluster start, stocks continued to remain bearish.

Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq retreated 1.54 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 1.56 percent, largely as Russia's attack on the Ukrainian city of Mariupol fueled pessimism about the two countries' peace talks.

Investors are also worried about the U.S. Federal Reserve's repeated signal for aggressive policy tightening.

"We need more (positive) factors for upward momentum, but the lingering Russia-Ukraine war and the pressure from the Fed's tightening seem to be trumping other factors for now," said Eugene Investment & Securities analyst Huh Jae-hwan.

Most large caps closed lower in Seoul.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 0.72 percent to 69,100 won, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix declined 1.69 percent to 116,000 won.

Internet portal operator Naver shed 1.47 percent to 335,500 won, with battery heavyweight LG Energy Solution sliding 3.17 percent to 428,000 won. Bio heavyweight Samsung Biologics retreated 0.85 percent to 820,000 won.

The local currency closed at 1,215.5 won against the U.S. dollar, down 3.4 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys added 12.1 basis points to 2.784 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bond rose 8.6 basis points to 2.942 percent.

Source: Yonhap News Agency