Seoul's stock market closed nearly 1 percent lower on Tuesday as investors exercised caution ahead of the US Federal Reserve's rate decision and the upcoming earnings reports from major global tech companies. The local currency also weakened against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) dropped by 27.34 points, or 0.99 percent, to finish at 2,738.19. Trading activity was subdued, with 376.4 million shares valued at 9.9 trillion won ($7.1 billion) changing hands, and a significant imbalance between losers and gainers. Institutional and foreign investors offloaded 355.2 billion won and 400 billion won worth of local stocks, respectively, countering the 729.2 billion won in stock purchases by individual investors. Analysts attributed the sell-off to a heightened risk-averse sentiment in anticipation of the Fed's rate decision and the earnings releases of major tech companies later in the week. Market attention was particularly focused on the Federal Open Market Committee meeting and the financial results of tech giants like Apple, Amazon.com, Microsoft, and Samsung Electronics. Notable stock movements included declines in Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, while LG Energy Solution and HMM were among the few gainers. Additionally, the local currency closed at 1,385.90 won against the US dollar, marking a 4.0 won decrease from the previous session.