The officials work at the dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, March 28. Yonhap

Seoul shares ended nearly 2 percent lower Friday on foreign selling amid concerns of a widening trade war by the U.S. government. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 49.17 points, or 1.89 percent, to close at 2,557.98.

Trade volume was moderate at 507.56 million shares worth 7.07 trillion won ($4.8 billion), with losers far outnumbering winners 728 to 168.

Foreigners sold a net 640.59 billion won worth of stocks, offsetting institutions' and individuals' purchases of 2.9 billion won and 541.45 billion won in stocks, respectively.

The KOSPI opened lower, tracking losses on Wall Street.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.37 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite declined 0.53 percent.

Planned U.S. tariffs on all imported vehicles fueled uncertainties in the stock market, weighing on investor sentiment, analysts said.

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to impose 25 percent tariffs on all car imports on Wednesday, a move that will affect the global automotive market.

In Seoul, most large-cap stocks declined.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 2.59 percent to 60,200 won, top carmaker Hyundai Motor went down 3.53 percent to 205,000 won, and leading steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 2.83 percent to 292,000 won.

National flag carrier Korean Air dropped 1.13 percent to 21,950 won, and Lotte Chemical plunged 5.57 percent to 67,800 won.

Among gainers, leading cosmetics firm Amorepacific rose 1.46 percent to 104,500 won, while leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries climbed 1.27 percent to 280,000 won.

The local currency was trading at 1,467.10 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 1.8 won from the previous session.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, ended lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 0.7 basis point to 2.629 percent, while the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds climbed 0.5 basis point to end at 2.710 percent. (Yonhap)