South Korean shares end marginally lower as chipmakers fall

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean shares extend gains for sixth session as China stocks shine

• South Korean shares ended marginally lower on Monday, as heavyweight chipmakers tracked losses in US peers, with a focus on the domestic central bank’s upcoming monetary policy meeting.

• The benchmark KOSPI closed down 9.31 points, or 0.35%, at 2,645.27.

• “The KOSPI fell amid weakness across broader Asian markets as risk appetite weakened after Wall Street’s losses on signs of a slowdown in the US economy,” said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.

• US stocks tumbled on Friday, extending their selloff in the wake of dour economic reports and closing the book on a holiday-shortened week fraught with new tariff threats and worries of softening consumer demand.

• The Bank of Korea is expected to cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points on Tuesday and offer support to an economy that barely grew last quarter, according to a Reuters poll.

• Chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 1.55% and peer SK Hynix lost 2.15%, following a 4.1% slide in US artificial intelligence chip giant Nvidia on Friday.

• Among other index heavyweights, battery makers and automakers rose, but biopharmaceutical firms and steel producers fell.

• Of the total 941 traded issues, 451 shares advanced, while 423 declined.

• Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 204.3 billion won ($143.16 million).

• The won was quoted at 1,427.4 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.45% higher than its previous close at 1,433.8.

• In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.04 point to 106.72.

• The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell 1.2 basis points to 2.607%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell 5.9 bps to 2.819%.