Stocks fall for third straight session due to energy price concerns

Finance

Published: 08 Mar. 2022, 18:06

Stocks fall for third straight session due to energy price concerns

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,622.40 points on Tuesday, down 28.91 points, or 1.09 percent, from the previous trading day. [NEWS1]

Stocks retreated for a third straight session Tuesday on concerns that the surging energy prices in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine may hamper the post-pandemic economic recovery. The won steeply fell against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi lost 28.91 points, or 1.09 percent, to close at 2,622.4 points.

Trading volume was moderate at about 531 million shares worth some 11.5 trillion won ($9.3 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 732 to 148.

Foreigners sold a net 476 billion won and institutions offloaded 293 billion won, while retail investors bought 732 billion won.

The sharp drop in the local currency also fanned foreign sell-offs.

U.S. stocks also suffered a decline on Monday.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite tumbled 3.62 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 2.37 percent. The S&P 500 plummeted to the lowest point in 17 months.

As commodity prices soar, investors are eyeing the U.S. consumer price index for February, a key gauge for inflation, which will be released Thursday.

"Now investors are paying keen attention to the CPI data, seeking clues on whether the Federal Reserve would be willing to help out the stock markets," Samsung Securities analyst Jeong Myung-ji said.

Samsung Electronics lost 0.86 percent to 69,500 won, and chipmaker SK hynix declined 1.26 percent to 118,000 won.

Chemical firm LG Chem moved down 2.14 percent to 503,000 won, and steelmaker Posco dipped 3.15 percent to 276,500 won.

Among gainers, bio company Samsung Biologics added 0.65 percent to 769,000 won.

The local currency closed at 1,237 won against the dollar, steeply up 9.9 won from the previous session's close.

The Kosdaq declined 11.40 points, or 1.29 percent, to close at 870.14 points.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds lost 0.2 basis point to 2.287 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond added 4 basis points to 1.77 percent.

BY SHIN HA-NEE, YONHAP [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]