Shares down as investors worry over recession and corporate earnings

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Shares down as investors worry over recession and corporate earnings

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,340.27 points on Wednesday, down 10.34 points, or 0.44 percent, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,340.27 points on Wednesday, down 10.34 points, or 0.44 percent, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

 
Shares snapped a two-day winning streak Monday as investors took to the sidelines amid woes about a recession and possibly lackluster corporate earnings. The won fell against the dollar.
 
The benchmark Kospi retreated 10.34 points, or 0.44 percent, to close at 2,340.27 points.
 
Trading volume was relatively small at about 369 million shares worth some 6.1 trillion won ($4.7 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 569 to 295.
 
Institutions sold a net 188 billion won worth of shares, and foreigners offloaded 19 billion won worth of stocks, while retail investors bought 191 billion won worth of shares in net value.
 
Stocks opened higher, driven by strong advances in tech and auto issues, but oscillated between gains and losses before turning south as foreigners and institutions expanded selling.
 
The losses later deepened as a continued energy crunch from the ongoing war in Ukraine and prolonged supply bottlenecks have dimmed the outlooks for corporate earnings.
 
"The [quarterly] earnings will start coming in, with investors in their wait-and-see mode. Investors also seem to be bracing themselves for possibilities that the Fed may take more big steps to tighten its policies," Samsung Securities analyst Seo Jung-hoon said.
 
Samsung Electronics edged up 0.17 percent to 58,800 won, while SK hynix decreased 1.16 percent to 93,700 won.
 
Hyundai Motor advanced 0.56 percent to 179,000 won, with its smaller affiliate Kia adding 1.56 percent to 78,000 won.
 
LG Chem tumbled 3.33 percent to 522,000 won, and Naver dipped 3.41 percent to 240,500 won. Celltrion rose 1.92 percent to 186,000 won amid worries over a resurgence of coronavirus infections.
 
The local currency closed at 1,303.9 won against the dollar, up 3.5 won from the previous session's close.
 
The Kosdaq gained 0.56 points, or 0.07 percent, to close at 767.04 points.
 
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year government bonds gained 0.9 basis points to 3.324 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond gained 8.2 basis points to 3.08 percent.

BY LIM JEONG-WON, YONHAP [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]
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