South Korean shares hit 11-week low as chipmaker SK Hynix under pressure

Round-up of South Korean financial markets:  

South Korean shares slipped more than 5% to an over 11-week low on Tuesday, with SK Hynix still under pressure as renewed Iran-US tensions in the Gulf prompted investors to lock in gains after the chipmaker’s blockbuster Nasdaq debut last week.

The benchmark KOSPI was down 184.20 points, or 2.71%, at 6,622.73, as of 0335 GMT.

It fell as much as 5.3% to 6,448.86 points, its lowest level since April 24. With the session’s losses, the index is down around 28% from its record closing high on June 22.

Shares of SK Hynix slipped as much as 8.5% to their lowest point since May 20.

The AI memory chipmaker’s US-listed shares shed 9.3% overnight after jumping more than 12% in their Nasdaq debut on Friday.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s ruling party is seeking to make it easier for SK Hynix to form ventures with outside investors to build factories, a move that follows the government’s push to position the country as an AI powerhouse.

Separately, the Bank of Korea is expected to raise interest rates on Thursday for the first time in more than three years and deliver another increase by the end of the year, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

Rival chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 0.39%, while battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 1.98%. Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were down 7.21% and 1.60%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 1.46%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics fell 3.14%.

Of the total 910 traded issues, 157 shares advanced, while 738 declined.

Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 400.4 billion won ($269.16 million).

The won was last quoted at 1,486.9 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, the highest since May 13.

“There are dollar selling orders from SK Hynix,” an official at a local bank said, adding that there was dollar selling during the session as well. In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,487.9 per dollar, up 0.6% on the day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,486.9.

The KOSPI has risen 57.15% so far this year.

The won has weakened 3.2% against the dollar so far this year. In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds lost 0.21 point to 102.79.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose 5.5 basis points to 3.872%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 6.5 basis points to 4.320%.‑Reuters