Stocks slump to lowest level in two months Wednesday

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,280.45 points on Wednesday, down 52.34 points, or 2.24 percent, from the previous trading day. [NEWS1]

Stocks slumped to their lowest level in two months on Wednesday on the ex-dividend date and losses in tech and battery shares. The won rose against the dollar.

The Kospi shed 52.34 points, or 2.24 percent, to close at 2,280.45 points.

Trading volume was moderate at about 396.9 million shares worth some 7.5 trillion won ($5.9 billion), with the last trading session of 2022 slated for Thursday.

Losers outnumbered gainers 643 to 244.

Foreigners and institutions went in sell mode, offloading a net 1.13 trillion won worth of shares, while retail investors scooped up a net 1.08 trillion won.

"The Kospi closed lower on the ex-dividend date and overnight falls on Wall Street," Seo Sang-yong from Mirae Asset Securities said.

"Investor sentiment was dampened on concerns that demand for secondary batteries could contract as well, after shares of electric car makers such as Tesla sharply dropped," Seo added.

In Seoul, tech and battery shares were lead decliners.

Samsung Electronics slid 2.58 percent to 56,600 won, and SK hynix declined 1.3 percent to 76,000 won.

Battery shares suffered deep losses. LG Energy Solution dipped 4.49 percent to 436,500 won, while Samsung SDI retreated 3.37 percent to 603,000 won. LG Chem fell 4.14 percent to 602,000 won.

In contrast, energy shares gathered ground on news the government could raise electricity rates next year.

State-run Korea Electric Power added 4.42 percent to 22,450 won, and Doosan Enerbility, a nuclear plant components maker of Doosan Group, jumped 5.72 percent to 15,700 won.

The local currency closed at 1,267 won against the dollar, down 4.4 won from the previous session's close.

The Kosdaq decreased 11.82 points, or 1.68 percent, to close at 692.37 points.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year government bonds increased 0.7 basis points to 3.668 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bonds increased 9.8 basis points to 3.845 percent.

BY LEE JAE-LIM, YONHAP [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]