Seoul: South Korean stocks fell nearly 1 percent, ending a three-day winning streak, as foreign investors offloaded technology and battery stocks. Meanwhile, the local currency appreciated against the U.S. dollar.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 24.01 points, or 0.92 percent, to close at 2,593.79. This marked the first daily decline in four trading sessions. The trade volume was moderate, with 476.4 million shares exchanged, valued at 8.76 trillion won (approximately US$6.3 billion). Declining stocks outnumbered gaining ones, with 514 stocks falling compared to 350 rising.
Foreign investors sold a net 335.3 billion won worth of stocks, leading the market downturn. This sell-off offset the net purchase of 311.7 billion won by both institutions and individual investors. Technology and battery stocks were the primary drivers of the market’s decline.
Market leader Samsung Electronics saw its shares drop by 0.84 percent to 59,100 won, while leading car man
ufacturer Hyundai Motor experienced a decline of 1.56 percent, closing at 220,500 won. The EV battery sector also faced challenges, with POSCO Future M decreasing by 4.19 percent to 228,500 won and Samsung SDI slipping 1.45 percent to 339,000 won.
In other sectors, steel giant POSCO Holdings fell 1.88 percent to 340,000 won, and shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean decreased by 3.16 percent to 27,550 won. Korea Zinc, however, experienced a significant drop, plummeting by the daily limit of 30 percent to 1.08 million won after announcing plans to raise 2.5 trillion won by issuing new shares to resolve an ongoing management dispute.
Conversely, SK hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker, saw a rise of 2.47 percent to 195,000 won, and leading battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution increased by 0.61 percent to 411,500 won. Retail powerhouse Shinsegae gained 1.54 percent to 151,400 won following plans to separate its department store and supermarket divisions into distinct entities.
The Korean won strengthened
against the U.S. dollar, trading at 1,382.4 won at 3:30 p.m., an increase of 4.1 won from the previous session. Bond prices showed mixed results, with the yield on three-year Treasurys inching up by 0.1 basis point to 2.937 percent, while the yield on five-year government bonds decreased by 0.7 basis point to 3.002 percent.