South Korean shares dip as higher oil prices fuel slowdown concerns

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean shares fell on Thursday, taking a breather from a record rally over the past week, as oil prices climbed to four-year highs, adding to slowdown concerns linked to the Iran war.

The won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.

The benchmark KOSPI was down 19.60 points, or 0.29%, at 6,671.30, as of 02:59 GMT.

Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 0.44%, while peer SK Hynix gained 1.16%.

Battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 2.11%.

Oil prices surged more than 6% on Wednesday to settle at their highest point in weeks, as deadlocked US-Iran negotiations made investors more concerned about prolonged disruptions to Middle Eastern supply.

Samsung Electronics on Thursday reported record quarterly profit after an eightfold jump in earnings, and said it expects the momentum to continue as clients spend aggressively on AI infrastructure and drive up prices of its memory chips.

Shares of Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were down 3.24% and 2.36%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 1.60%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics was flat.

Of the total 890 traded issues, 229 shares advanced, while 619 declined.

Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 224.4 billion won.

The won was quoted at 1,486.9 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.11% higher than its previous close at 1,488.5.

The KOSPI has risen 58.31% so far this year.

The won has weakened 3.2% against the dollar so far this year.

In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds lost 0.17 point to 103.58.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose 4.6 basis points to 3.580%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose 4.6 basis points to 3.888%. ‑Reuters