Korean stocks fall for the fifth consecutive day
The benchmark Kospi fell 6.97 points, or 0.31 percent, to close at 2,267.52. Trading volume was moderate at 6.1 trillion won ($5.45 billion). Friday was the fifth consecutive day that the market retreated.
Analysts said the main bourse closed weaker because foreign investors offloaded local shares for the fifth consecutive session.
“The local market continued to lose ground as investors’ sentiment was weakened by unstable overseas factors,” said Lee Young-gon, an analyst at Hana Financial Investment. “The sharp increase in the U.S. bond rates continues to weigh down on investors’ sentiment in emerging markets.”
Overseas investors sold a net 328 billion won worth of shares on the main exchange. Individual investors scooped up a net 200.5 billion won, and institutions bought a net 112 billion won. Pharmaceutical firms closed bearish with Celltrion losing 0.52 percent to 289,000 won and Samsung BioLogics decreasing 3.42 percent to 508,000 won. Hanmi Pharmaceutical shed 1.71 percent to 458,500 won.
Chemical firms also lost ground, with LG Chem losing 1.67 percent to 324,000 won and LG Household & Health Care falling 0.5 percent to 1,191,000 won. Amorepacific shed 1.1 percent to 225,000 won.
Automobile shares were mixed, with top carmaker Hyundai Motor remaining unchanged from the previous session while its sister Kia Motors rose 1.48 percent to 34,200 won. Hyundai Mobis lost 0.48 percent to fall to 208,500 won.
Market behemoth Samsung Electronics closed unchanged at 44,700 won despite its record-breaking earnings guidance for the third quarter. Chipmaker SK Hynix advanced 0.43 percent to 70,300 won. Hyundai Construction & Engineering fell 4.07 percent to 66,000 won, and GS Engineering & Construction also slipped 1.11 percent to 53,500 won.
The secondary Kosdaq also fell 15.30 points, or 1.94 percent, to end at 773.70. The tech and bio-heavy index also ended in negative terrain for the fifth consecutive session, dragged down by foreign selling due to the impact of a sharp decline in the U.S. Nasdaq Biotech index. The Korean won closed at 1,130.40 won against the U.S. dollar, up 0.50 won from the previous trading session.
Bond prices ended lower. The yield on three-year bonds rose 1.8 basis points to 2.08 percent, and the return on 10-year bonds was up 0.8 basis points to 2.45 percent.
BY CHAE YUN-HWAN, YONHAP [chae.yunhwan@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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