South Korean shares fall over 1% as Middle East conflict escalates

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:  

South Korean shares fell more than 1% on Thursday, as risk sentiment retreated on escalating tensions in the Middle East.

The benchmark KOSPI was down 96.61 points, or 1.37%, at 6,955.03 as of 0058 GMT.

Iran said on Wednesday it had attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz after the US sank five Iranian oil tankers, in the biggest wave of attacks on shipping by both sides since the start of the six-month-old war.

Chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 1.67%, while peer SK Hynix lost 1.35%.

Among other index heavyweights, battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 0.81%, while Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were down 0.77% and down 0.39%, respectively.

Steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 0.30%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics fell 1.72%. Of the total 906 traded issues, 197 shares advanced, while 666 declined.

Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 219.3 billion won ($163.94 million).

The won was quoted at 1,339.3 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.07% higher than its previous close at 1,340.2.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,337.8 per dollar, up 0.1% on the day, while in non-deliverable forward trading, its one-month contract was quoted at 1,337.4.

The KOSPI has risen 65.04% so far this year.

The won has strengthened 7.5% against the dollar so far this year.

In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds lost 0.07 point to 102.97.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 3.0 basis points to 3.936%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 5.3 bps to 4.443%.