Kospi inches down as investors wait for Fed
The benchmark Kospi fell 18.94 points, or 0.76 percent, to finish at 2,475.03. Trade volume was moderate at 5.87 trillion won ($5.5 billion).
Foreigners became net sellers, offloading a net 83 billion won. Institutions also dumped a net 52 billion won, but individuals bought 148 billion won worth of shares, keeping the Kospi from falling further.
Analysts said investors were more cautious as the U.S. Federal Reserve is set to make a decision on rate hikes later this week. Low auto shares following U.S. investigations into several Hyundai and Kia models also weighed on the decline.
Large-cap shares saw mixed trading across the board.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 0.78 percent to 2,537,000 won, while No. 2 chipmaker SK Hynix rose 0.11 percent to 89,900 won. Leading steelmaker Posco gained 0.29 percent to 343,000 won.
An ongoing U.S. probe into faulty airbags that caused crashes played a role in lowering top carmaker Hyundai Motor shares by 3.81 percent to 151,500 won. Its affiliates Kia Motors declined 3.53 percent to 31,400 won and Hyundai Mobis dropped 2.38 percent at 226,000 won.
The secondary Kosdaq also ended lower, falling 13.46 points, or 1.50 percent, to 880.97.
Institutions and foreigners became mass sellers as they cashed in on recent gains following the tech-heavy market’s incline for seven consecutive sessions.
Institutions and foreigners sold a net 27.8 billion and 59.5 billion won each. Individuals were net buyers, purchasing 92.7 billion won more than they sold.
By sector, pharmaceuticals lost 1.8 percent. Celltrion Healthcare dropped 1.47 percent to 107,600 won, and its sister company Celltrion Pharm fell 1.92 percent to 87,000 won. Viromed, another large player in the sector, dropped 3.32 percent to 233,000 won. Nature Cell plunged down 29.9 percent to 43,600 won after it failed to obtain approval for its new stem cell therapy from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
The local currency closed at 1,071.60 won against the U.S. dollar, up 5.40 won from the previous session.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, ended on a mixed note. The yield on three-year bonds fell 0.1 basis points to 2.28 percent, and the return on 10-year government bonds climbed 1.1 points to 2.72 percent.
BY KIM EUN-JIN, YONHAP [kim.eunjin1@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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