South Korea shares drop on chip stocks valuation uncertainties

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean shares fell on Monday, as technology shares lost momentum, with chipmaker SK Hynix preparing to list $29 billion American depositary receipts on the Nasdaq.

The won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield fell.

The benchmark KOSPI was down 240.93 points, or 2.98%, at 7,847.41 as of 0245 GMT.

The index has risen 86.21% so far this year. Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 1.53%, while peer SK Hynix lost 5.20%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 3.86%.

SK Hynix will sell 17.79 million new shares in the depositary receipt listing, making it one of the world’s most valuable tech firms.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Monday ordered officials to move quickly to execute major chip and AI projects announced last week.

Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were down 0.61% and up 2.83%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 2.03%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics fell 3.03%.

Of the total 913 traded issues, 268 shares advanced, while 618 declined. Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 828.8 billion won.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,532.9 per dollar, down 0.3% on the day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,531.4.

The won has weakened 6.2% against the dollar so far this year. In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds gained 0.06 point to 103.12.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 0.9 basis point to 3.761%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 2.5 bps to 4.171%. ‑Reuters