South Korean stocks snap 5-day winning streak on Fed outcome; won drops

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korean shares closed lower on Thursday, snapping a five-day rally, after the US Federal Reserve signalled it might raise interest rates earlier than expected.

** The won lost the most in nearly four months, while the benchmark bond yield rose.

** The benchmark KOSPI closed down 13.72 points, or 0.42%, at 3,264.96, away from its all-time high touched on Wednesday. The index is up 13.62% so far this year.

** US central bank officials moved their first projected rate increases from 2024 into 2023 and opened talks about when to pull back on the Fed's $120 billion in monthly bond purchase.

** Among the heavyweights, chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell 1.10% and 2.32%, respectively, while battery maker LG Chem rose 3.34% and internet giant Naver slid 0.38%.

** Foreigners were net sellers of 348.0 billion won ($307.82 million)worth of shares on the main board.

** "The KOSPI slid on hawkish tone from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and profit-taking following a record close in the previous session," said Seo Sang-young, analyst at Mirae Asset Securities.

** The won ended at 1,130.4 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, down 1.17% to mark its sharpest daily loss since Feb. 26.

** In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,130.7 per dollar, up 0.2%, while in non-deliverable forward trading, its one-month contract was quoted at 1,130.4.

** In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.14 point to 110.20.

** The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 3.9 basis points to 1.325%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 1.7 basis points to 2.088%.