South Korean shares decline on profit booking

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean shares fell on Thursday as investors booked profit after a recent rally on post-election policy optimism.

The benchmark KOSPI closed down 28.69 points, or 0.92%, at 3,079.56 after falling as much as 2.31% during the session. The index has risen 14% so far this month.

“The KOSPI fell below the 3,100 level on increasing sales to book profits,” said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.

South Korea President Lee Jae Myung, who took office earlier this month, asked the parliament to swiftly approve the $14.7 billion of extra government spending as the economy is in a “desperate” situation across domestic consumption and exports.

Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 1.79%, while peer SK Hynix gained 2.45%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 0.34%.

Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia dropped 3.46% and down 1.98%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 0.74%, and drugmaker Samsung BioLogics fell 0.50%.

Automakers boost South Korean shares higher

Of the total 936 traded issues, 181 advanced and 727 declined.

Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 579.4 billion won ($427.2 million).

The won was quoted at 1,356.9 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.32% higher than Wednesday’s close of 1,361.2.

In the money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds gained 0.04 point to 107.20.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell 0.3 basis point to 2.455%, while the benchmark 10-year yield lost 0.4 basis point to 2.799%.