Seoul stocks slump for fourth straight session

A screen at Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,976.12 points on Tuesday, down 19.99 points, or 0.67 percent from the previous trading day. [NEWS1]

Stocks slumped for a fourth consecutive session Tuesday amid growing concerns over post-pandemic inflation. The won fell against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi fell 19.99 points, or 0.67 percent, to close at 2,976.12 points.

Trading volume was moderate at about 1.5 billion shares worth around 18 trillion won ($15.8 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 570 to 276.

Foreigners sold a net 644 billion won, while retail investors purchased a net 355 billion won. Institutions purchased a net 290 billion won.

After a lackluster start, the Kospi extended losses amid massive foreign selling, touching an intraday low of 2,929.36 points late morning.

"The hike in the U.S. and Korean bond yields added downward pressure on the already feeble market," Kiwoom Securities analyst Seo Sang-young said.

Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dipped 2.41 percent, as yields of the U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury rebounded and finished just shy of 1.6 percent.

In Seoul, financial and insurance stocks performed well, while chemical and tech stocks retreated.

Samsung Electronics lost 0.73 percent to 81,400 won, while chipmaker SK hynix added 0.74 percent to 136,500 won.

Chemical firm LG Chem dipped 3.26 percent to 861,000 won, and rechargeable battery maker Samsung SDI shed 2.15 percent to 636,000 won.

The country's largest automaker Hyundai Motor gained 0.43 percent to 231,500 won while kia added 0.85 percent to 83,500 won.

Steelmaker Posco lost 1.4 percent to 317,000 won.

Giant pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics moved down 1.29 percent to 687,000 won, while Celltrion went down 1.2 percent to 287,500 won.

Internet portal Naver retreated 1.9 percent to 361,500 won, with its rival Kakao lost 2.86 percent to 441,000 won.

Online game maker NCSoft remained unchanged at 931,000 won, while its rival Netmarble fell 1.65 percent to 119,000 won.

The Kosdaq fell 8.41 points, or 0.93 percent to close at 896.36.

The local currency closed at 1,140.3 won against the dollar, up 7.1 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on the three-year bond added 6.8 basis points to close at 1.204 percent, and the yield on the 10-year bond gained 3 basis points to close at 1.59 percent.

BY CHEA SARAH, YONHAP [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]