U.S. banks drag down local lenders’ shares
Korean stocks closed down 0.3 percent yesterday as banks tumbled on jitters over the U.S. banking system and their dollar liquidity, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Kospi shed 3.15 points to 1,055.03. Volume was moderate at 455.1 million shares worth 3.39 trillion won ($2.19 billion), with losers outperforming gainers 464 to 357.
“Local lenders were battered by troubled U.S. banks after the credit ratings of two major U.S. lenders were cut,” said Lee Jae-mahn, an analyst at Tong Yang Investment Bank.
Worries about local banks’ dollar supplies weighed on their share prices, other analysts said. Shinhan Financial Group, which controls Shinhan Bank, dropped 4.4 percent to 20,500 won. KB Financial Group, which owns top lender Kookmin Bank, shed 3.9 percent to 26,900 won.
Korea Electric Power, the state-owned energy agency, declined 3.7 percent to 23,300 won on speculation that a weak won will boost its oil-securing costs, weighing down its earnings. STX Pan Ocean Co., Korea’s biggest bulk carrier, rose 2.4 percent to 8,000 won. Korea Line Corp., the second-biggest, climbed 1 percent to 52,500 won.
NHN, owner of Korea’s biggest portal Naver, shed 3.2 percent to 134,500 won after announcing Thursday it will spin off its advertising and server management unit.
Local drugmaker Bukwang Pharmaceutical Co. added 7.8 percent to 17,300 won, the highest since Feb. 27. The stock rose after the company said it received approval to sell its hepatitis B drug Levovir in the Philippines starting in June, the company said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. LG Micron Ltd, a local maker of parts for displays and cell phones, gained 7.5 percent to 27,100 won, the highest since Feb. 18.
The local currency ended at 1,550 won against the U.S. dollar, up 18 won from Thursday’s close, as offshore investors and exporters unloaded dollars on speculation the authorities’ intervention will curb the won’s further descent.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The return on three-year Treasuries declined 0.08 percentage point to 3.63 percent, and the benchmark yield on five-year government bonds also dropped 0.1 percentage point to 4.57 percent. Yonhap, Bloomberg
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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