South Korean shares fall on caution ahead of central bank events

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean shares at more than two-week high after president impeached

• South Korean shares fell for a second straight session on Tuesday amid caution ahead of major central bank events at home and abroad.

• The won and the benchmark bond yield were little changed.

• The blue-chip KOSPI shed 19.34 points, or 0.78%, at 2,469.63 as of 0109 GMT. On Monday, it fell 0.2%.

• “The market is unlikely to move meaningfully in the next couple of days due to uncertainty of the Federal Reserve’s meeting outcome,” said Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.

• Investors see a quarter-point cut at the Fed’s Dec. 17-18 meeting as a near given but are bracing for the central bank to scale back its easing in 2025 in anticipation of higher inflation under the Trump administration.

• The Bank of Korea later in the day will release the minutes of its latest meeting, during which the central bank delivered its first back-to-back rate cuts since 2009.

• Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 1.80%, while peer SK Hynix gained 2.73%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 3.27%.

• Hyundai dropped 0.95%, while sister automaker Kia added 0.94%. Search engine Naver and instant messenger Kakao eased 0.70% and 0.34%, respectively.

• Of the total 936 traded issues, 323 advanced and 563 declined.

• Foreigners net sold shares worth 234.3 billion won ($163 million).

• The won was quoted at 1,436.3 per US dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.02% lower than its previous close at 1,436.0.

• In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.08 point to 106.63.

• The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell 0.1 basis point to 2.561%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose 0.4 basis point to 2.731%.