South Korea stocks end at 2-wk low on choppy Wall Street; Samsung Elec, Hyundai drag

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korean shares ended lower for a fourth straight session on Wednesday, dragged down by heavyweights Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor, following overnight choppy trade on the Wall Street. Both the won and the benchmark bond yield fell.

** The KOSPI closed down 8.39 points, or 0.28%, at 2,996.35, its lowest since March 10. It fell as much as 1.12% in early trade.

** Wall Street ended lower overnight on concerns around the cost of infrastructure spending and potential tax hikes to pay for the US stimulus bill, while the spread of COVID-19 and related lockdown measures in Europe further dented sentiment.

** Technology giant Samsung Electronics tumbled as much as 1.34% after rival Intel Corp announced plans to greatly expand its advanced chip manufacturing capacity. Peer SK Hynix also slid 1.11%.

** Hyundai Motor, the country's largest automaker, dipped 2.43% following a report that said the company is expected to see production disruptions from April because of a widespread chip shortage.

** Foreigners were net sellers of 478.7 billion won ($422.50 million) worth of shares on the main board.

** The won ended at 1,133.6 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.34% lower than its previous close at 1,129.7.

** In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,132.9 per dollar, unchanged from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,133.0.

** In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.11 points to 110.88.

** The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 1.7 basis points to 1.112%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 4.6 basis points to 1.985%.