South Korean shares fall on profit taking after US summit; shipbuilders drop

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

• South Korean shares fell on Tuesday, as investors booked profit after a US summit, particularly in shipbuilding stocks, a key sector of potential for cooperation, following recent gains.

• The benchmark KOSPI was down 29.85 points, or 0.93%, at 3,180.01 as of 0328 GMT, after three consecutive sessions of gains.

• South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is leaning on promises to “Make America Shipbuilding Great Again” during his first official US trip, as the two allies wrangle over other details of their trade and security agreements.

• “The shipbuilding sector rose in recent days on hopes of cooperation with the US and is now seeing profit-taking after the summit,” said Lee Sung-hoon, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.

• Shipbuilders Hanwha Ocean and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering fell more than 5%, while HD Hyundai Heavy Industries lost more than 3%.

• Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 1.40%, while peer SK Hynix lost 0.58%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 0.39%.

• Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were down 1.13% and 1.15%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 1.31%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics rose 0.10%.

• Of the total 929 traded issues, 269 shares advanced, while 610 declined.

• Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 476.6 billion won ($343.33 million).

• The won was quoted at 1,391.4 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.08% lower than its previous close at 1,390.3.

• In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds gained 0.04 point to 107.35.

• The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 1.6 basis points to 2.420%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 0.6 basis point to 2.860%.