South Korean shares fall after two-day rebound as chipmakers drag
- The benchmark KOSPI was down 27.52 points, or 0.49%, at 5,582.43
SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
South Korean shares fell on Thursday, after two sessions of gains, dragged down by heavyweight chipmakers, while investors’ focus remained on the developments around the Middle East conflict.
The benchmark KOSPI was down 27.52 points, or 0.49%, at 5,582.43 as of 0204 GMT. It briefly turned higher during the session after opening lower.
The KOSPI rose 1.4% on Wednesday after gaining 5.3% on Tuesday.
US stocks closed lower on Wednesday as markets largely looked past a tame inflation report, focusing instead on intensifying hostilities and mounting repercussions related to the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 1.21% and peer SK Hynix lost 0.94%, dragging the benchmark lower.
Among other index heavyweights, battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 0.54%, while Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were down 1.51% and up 1.23%, respectively.
Steelmaker POSCO Holdings added 0.87%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics fell 2.66%.
Of the total 925 traded issues, 532 shares advanced, while 346 declined.
Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 821.4 billion won ($555.56 million).
The won was quoted at 1,478.5 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.10% lower than its previous close at 1,477.0.
In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year treasury bonds lost 0.11 point to 104.86.
The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 4.4 basis points to 3.295%, while the benchmark 10-year yield was flat at 3.617%. ‑Reuters