Stocks snap two-day winning streak on worries over slow growth

Finance

Published: 19 Jul. 2022, 17:03

Stocks snap two-day winning streak on worries over slow growth

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,370.97 points on Tuesday, down 4.28 points, or 0.18 percent, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

Stocks snapped their two-day winning streak Tuesday, weighed down by concerns about rate hikes and slower economic growth. The won rose against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi retreated 4.28 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 2,370.97 points.

Trading volume was relatively small at about 332 million shares worth some 6.3 trillion won ($4.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 573 to 271.

Institutions sold a net 144.6 billion won worth of stocks, while foreigners bought a net 39.6 billion won and retail investors purchased a net 91.8 billion won worth of stocks.

Stocks opened lower, tracking overnight falls on Wall Street.

U.S. stocks retreated on spreading concerns about the aggressive monetary tightening, fanned by Apple's decision to narrow hiring and cut costs.

"Investors' primary concern at the moment is the second-quarter corporate earnings," said Lee Jin-woo, an analyst at Meritz Securities. "They are willing to wait and see how the numbers turn out."

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics dropped 1.62 percent to 60,900 won, with chipmaker SK hynix losing 0.99 percent to 100,000 won.

Battery maker LG Energy Solution shed 2.54 percent to 383,000 won, and internet portal operator Naver retreated 1.22 percent to 243,500 won.

Doosan Enerbility dropped 0.57 percent to 17,550 won and Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) lost 1.33 percent to 81,900 won.

Among gainers, carmaker Hyundai Motor added 1.62 percent to 188,500 won, and its affiliate Kia advanced 2.5 percent to 82,100 won.

Samsung Biologics advanced 1.11 percent to 819,000 won and Celltrion gained 0.27 percent to 183,500 won.

HMM added 2.16 percent to 23,650 won.

The local currency closed at 1,313.4 won against the dollar, down 4.0 won from the previous session's close.

The Kosdaq gained 5.61 points, or 0.72 percent, to close at 782.33 points.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds lost 0.4 basis points to 3.204 percent, and the yield on the 10-year government bond gained 6.7 basis points to 2.98 percent.

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