SEOUL: South Korean shares fell on Wednesday, reversing early gains, as investors booked profits in technology stocks and on worries about growth across the region. The won strengthened and the benchmark bond yield rose.
The benchmark KOSPI ended 15.91 points, or 0.53%, down at 3,013.13, reversing early gains of as much as 0.60%. It ended 0.74% higher on Tuesday.
Among the heavyweights, chip giant Samsung Electronics fell 0.42%, while peer SK Hynix rose 0.20%. Battery maker LG Chem rose 1.08% but platform company Naver ended flat.
Samsung Electronics has gained as much as 3.95% in the past four days, while LG Chem and Naver have surged as much as 19.5% and 12.7%, respectively, over the past two weeks.
Foreigners were net sellers of 73.2 billion won ($62.31 million) worth of shares on the main board.
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday slashed this year’s economic growth forecast for Asia and warned that a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections, supply chain disruptions and inflation pressures pose downside risks to the outlook.
The won ended at 1,174.2 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.38% higher than its previous close.
In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,174.9 per dollar, unchanged from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,175.4.
In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.01 point to 108.65, while the 3-month Certificate of Deposit rate was quoted at 1.09% in late afternoon trade. The benchmark 10-year yield rose by 1.0 basis points to 2.390%.
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