Stocks unchanged as inflation and recession fears remain

Finance

Published: 08 Jun. 2022, 18:59 Updated: 08 Jun. 2022, 19:03

Stocks unchanged as inflation and recession fears remain

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,626.15 points on Wednesday, down 0.19 points, or 0.01 percent, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

Stocks finished nearly unchanged Wednesday, weighed down by concerns about inflation and an economic recession. The won rose against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi slipped 0.19 points, or 0.01 percent, to close at 2,626.15 points.

Trading volume was moderate at about 561 million shares worth some 7.4 trillion won ($5.9 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 481 to 360.

Institutions sold a net 73.5 billion won worth of stocks, and foreigners offloaded a net 107.8 billion won. Retail investors bought a net 140.9 billion won worth of stocks.

Stocks opened higher, tracking stock gains on Wall Street.

Stocks traded choppy as investor wariness grew over stagflation.

Overnight, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the inflation growth in the world's largest economy is likely to "remain high," and the World Bank revised down the global economic growth forecast for 2022 to 2.9 percent from its January estimate of 4.1 percent expansion.

"Investors are waiting to see how the consumer price index comes out this week," Investment & Securities analyst Kwak Byung-yeol said.

The U.S. consumer price data, one of the essential gauges for the Federal Reserve's timeline for rate hikes, will be released Friday.

Stocks closed mixed in Seoul.

Samsung Electronics lost 0.31 percent to 65,300 won, while SK hynix increased 1.92 percent to 106,000 won.

LG Chem jumped 4.5 percent to 581,000 won, and KB Financial Group closed unchanged at 57,400 won.

Hyundai Motor retreated 0.27 percent to 183,000 won, and internet portal operator Naver finished unchanged at 278,000 won.

Kakao lost 0.49 percent to 81,500 won, while Samsung Biologics gained 0.73 percent to 828,000 won.

The local currency closed at 1,253.8 won against the dollar, down 3.9 won from the previous session's close.

The Kosdaq gained 1.17 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 874.95 points.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds dropped 1.7 basis points to 3.214 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond lost 6.6 basis points to 2.98 percent.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO, YONHAP [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]