South Korean shares post longest run of declines in 8 months, chipmakers top drag

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean shares marked their longest run of declines in eight months as the market fell for the sixth straight session on Tuesday, dragged down by heavyweight chipmakers.

The benchmark KOSPI closed down 12.50 points, or 0.49%, at 2,523.43, its lowest since Aug. 6.

Chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 1.93% and peer SK Hynix lost 0.96%, making the Electric & Electronic Index the biggest declining sector.

“Investors are on a wait-and-see mode, as it is unlikely there will be a rebound this week, ahead of local holidays and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy meeting next week,” said Cho Jun-kee, an analyst at SK Securities.

South Korea’s financial markets will be closed next Monday through Wednesday for thanksgiving Chuseok holidays.

Battery maker LG Energy Solution dropped 5% and peer Samsung SDI shed 3.2%, while e-commerce firms, biopharmaceutical manufacturers and financial stocks rose.

LG Innotek, a camera parts supplier to Apple , dropped 5.89%, after the U.S. smartphone maker unveiled its long-awaited, artificial intelligence-boosted iPhone 16.

South Korean shares fall 1% as chipmakers drag on Nvidia forecasts

Online lender K Bank has announced a planned initial public offering to raise up to 984 billion won ($731.64 million), in what is expected to be one of the biggest stock market debuts this year.

Of the total 933 traded issues, 343 shares advanced, while 535 declined.

Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 662.9 billion won ($493.31 million).

The won was quoted at 1,343.7 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.20% lower than its previous close at 1,341.0.

In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.03 point to 105.91.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 2.4 basis points to 2.873%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 2.6 basis points to 3.008%.