Stocks ended lower Monday on concerns of Fed's aggressive rate hikes

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,403.68 points on Monday, down 5.73 points, or 0.24 percent, from the previous trading day. [NEWS1]

Stocks ended lower for a third consecutive session Monday on concerns over the Fed's aggressive rate hikes and a global economic recession. The won tumbled to a more than 13-year low against the dollar.

After choppy trading, the Kospi fell 0.24 percent, or 5.73 points, to 2,403.68.

Trading volume was moderate at 346.4 million shares worth 6.13 trillion won ($4.5 billion), with decliners outpacing gainers 606 to 252.

The Kospi opened higher on bargain hunting after shedding 2.5 percent in the previous two sessions. But the main index turned lower amid worries over the Fed's aggressive monetary tightening and a global economic recession.

The U.S. central bank has said it will continue interest rate hikes for some time to tame inflation. In July, it raised its key interest rate by 75 basis points for the second straight month.

"The dollar's strength mainly weighed investors' appetite for risky assets in today's session," said Park Hee-cheol, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities.

Foreigners and individuals sold a combined 135 billion won worth of stocks, fully offsetting institutional buying valued at 134 billion won.

Tech and airline stocks were the lead decliners, with Samsung Electronics falling 0.7 percent to 57,100 won, SK hynix declining 0.7 percent to 91,100 won and Korean Air Lines shedding 2.3 percent to 25,550 won.

Among gainers, Hyundai Motor rose 1.8 percent to 200,000 won, Hankook Tire & Technology climbed 2.5 percent to 39,600 won, and Posco Holdings gained 2.6 percent to 252,500 won.

The local currency traded at 1,371.4 won against the dollar, up 8.8 won from the previous session's close. It marked the lowest figure since April 1, 2009, when it ended at 1,379.5 won.

The Kosdaq lost 14.45 points, or 1.84 percent, to close at 771.43 points.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds lost 6.2 basis points to 3.616 percent, and the yield on the 10-year government bond fell 6.5 basis points to 3.2 percent.

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