South Korean shares inch lower as battery makers drop

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean stocks gain on US Fed comments

• South Korean shares fell on Tuesday, as battery makers tracked overnight losses in US electric-vehicle maker Tesla, while the won and benchmark bond yields were steady.

• The benchmark KOSPI was down 6.68 points, or 0.26%, at 2,605.75, as of 0111 GMT.

• Battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 3.24%, after Tesla dropped 2.5% overnight on worries about slowing demand. Peers Samsung SDI and SK Innovation fell 2.73% and 1.40%, respectively.

• Battery materials makers LG Chem and POSCO Holdings shed 7.5% and 2.3%, respectively.

• Among other index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 1.55%, while peer SK Hynix lost 2.24%. Automakers and e-commerce firms fell, while biopharmaceutical manufacturers rose.

• Of the total 935 traded issues, 344 shares advanced, while 510 declined.

• Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 132.4 billion won ($95.68 million).

• The won was quoted at 1,384.4 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.09% higher than its previous close at 1,385.7.

• A voting board member of the Bank of Korea said she was not concerned about dollar liquidity conditions in the dollar-won market, according to a report.

• In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.04 point to 105.88.

• The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 0.9 basis point to 2.920%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 0.5 basis point to 3.104%.