Downbeat outlook for chips hits Seoul stocks
The benchmark Kospi shed 9.77 points, or 0.39 percent, to close at 2,476.33. Trade volume was moderate at 7.71 trillion won ($7.2 billion).
After opening lower following Wall Street losses on Thursday, the index continued to drift further down.
Foreign investors dumped a net 491.1 billion won worth of shares, while institutions and retailers each picked up shares worth 161.1 billion won and 342.2 billion won.
“Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing reported a disappointing revenue forecast, which caused concerns over a possible slowdown in the sector,” said Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.
Losses occurred across the board, with tech firms and chipmakers leading the decline.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics tumbled 2.2 percent to 2,581,000 won, while top chipmaker SK Hynix retreated 3.98 percent to 84,400 won.
Steelmakers and chemicals also lost ground, with top steelmaker Posco retreating 1.55 percent to 349,500 won and LG Chem falling 0.93 percent to 372,500 won.
Major bio shares traded mixed amid looming suspicions over experts’ warnings over a bubble burst of their shares, though Celltrion, a major pharmaceutical firm, added 0.94 percent to 269,000 won on news that its biosimilar drug Truxima won approval for sales in Australia.
Namkwang Engineering & Construction rallied 20.73 percent to hit a record high of 31,450 won thanks to rising hopes for economic cooperation with North Korea. The builder is one of the major construction firms that took part in inter-Korean economic projects in the past, including a factory in the joint industrial complex of Kaesong.
The secondary Kosdaq rose 6.44 points, or 0.73 percent, to 889.17. The secondary index ended higher as investors went bargain hunting on large-cap IT and pharmaceutical shares.
Institutions and foreigners were net buyers, each purchasing 9.6 billion won and 7.4 billion won each. Individuals offloaded a net 5.9 billion won.
The local currency closed at 1,067.30 won against the U.S. dollar, up 5.8 won from the previous session’s close.
Bond prices ended lower. The yield on three-year bonds grew 0.5 basis points to 2.20 percent, and the return on 10-year government bonds added 2.4 basis points to 2.67 percent.
BY KIM EUN-JIN, YONHAP [kim.eunjin1@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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