South Korean shares fall on Middle East conflict escalation

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets: 

South Korean shares fell on Thursday as risk appetite retreated as the Middle East conflict escalated overnight.

The benchmark KOSPI was down 141.39 points, or 1.83%, at 7,589.43 as of 0233 GMT.

The KOSPI briefly turned higher during the session on a jump in chipmaker SK Hynix, after falling as much as 4.4% earlier.

The United States launched new strikes against multiple targets overnight in Iran, the US military said on Wednesday, as President Donald Trump vowed even more attacks if no peace deal is secured.

South Korea’s exports in the first 10 days of this month surged 85.9% from a year earlier on strong chip sales, data showed.

Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 2.15%, while peer SK Hynix gained 0.59%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 1.82%.

Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were down 3.99% and down 5.07%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 4.68%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics fell 2.23%.

Of the total 921 traded issues, 265 shares advanced, while 622 declined. Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 1.8 trillion won ($1.18 billion).

The won was quoted at 1,528.5 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.54% lower than its previous close at 1,520.2.

In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds lost 0.04 point to 103.09.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 0.7 basis point to 3.897%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 0.7 basis point to 4.283%.‑Reuters