Seoul shares saw gains in tourism and retail along with losses in semiconductors and pharmaceuticals on Wednesday, resulting in the market closing nearly flat from the previous day's close.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index remained almost unchanged, inching up just zero-point-14 points to close at three-thousand-198-point-14.

After the government announced plans for a visa waiver program for Chinese tour groups starting next month, tourism and retail shares jumped, including Hotel Shilla by four-point-79 percent and Shinsegae by three-point-27 percent.

With U.S. President Donald Trump’s news of new tariffs on chip and drug imports, Samsung Electronics fell one-point-57 percent and SK hynix one-point-nine percent, while SK Biopharmaceuticals lost eight-point-89 percent and Samsung Biologics one-point-nine percent.

The tech-heavy KOSDAQ gained four-point-89 points, or zero-point-61 percent, to close at 803-point-49.