South Korean stocks end lower on Delta virus woes; all eyes on US jobs data

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korean shares ended lower on Tuesday, hit by worries that a more infectious strain of COVID-19, the Delta variant, might derail the economic recovery, while investors awaited US data later in the week. The won gained, while the benchmark bond yield fell.

** The KOSPI closed down 15.21 points, or 0.46%, at 3,286.68.

** Chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dropped 1.10% and 0.79%, respectively, while internet giant Naver rose 0.86%.

** Foreigners were net sellers of 550.3 billion won ($487.57 million) worth of shares on the main board.

** "As the Delta virus spreads, investors seem to be worries that the global recovery momentum may lose steam," said Huh Jae-hwan, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities.

** Australia is battling small but fast growing outbreaks with snap lockdowns in several cities, while Indonesia is also grappling with record-high cases. Malaysia is set to extend a lockdown and Thailand has announced new restrictions.

** On Friday, a closely-watched US jobs report for June will be released, which could sway the Federal Reserve's policy outlook and bring forward expectations for interest rate increases.

** The won ended at 1,128.5 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.16% higher than its previous close at 1,130.3.

** In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,128.7 per dollar, up 0.1% from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,128.7.

** In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.11 points to 109.92.

** The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 0.9 basis points to 1.461%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 2.1 basis points to 2.116%.