Stocks break seven-day winning streak amid concerns of rate hikes

Home > Business > Finance

Stocks break seven-day winning streak amid concerns of rate hikes

Published: 18 Apr. 2023, 16:38

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,571.09 points on Tuesday, down 0.19 percent, or 4.82 points, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

Stocks finished down Tuesday, breaking their seven-day streak of gains amid concerns over possible rate hikes in the United States. The won fell against the dollar.

The Kospi shed 4.82 points, or 0.19 percent, to close at 2,571.09.

Trading volume was high at 882.9 million shares worth 13.9 trillion won ($10.5 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 577 to 309.

Institutions sold a net 664 billion won worth of stocks, while foreigners and retail investors bought stocks valued at a net 708 billion won.

U.S. economic data has shown that inflation is coming down, but consumer prices except for food and gasoline are still stubbornly high, pointing to the possibility that the Fed could keep rates high for longer after its widely expected 25 basis points hike in May.

Investors are now awaiting the release of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book this week and commentary from Fed officials for insight on the U.S. central bank's future rate-hike path.

In Seoul, big-cap stocks finished mixed.

Samsung Electronics rose 0.46 percent to close at 65,600 won, and SK hynix declined 1.02 percent to 87,600 won.

LG Chem rose 2.48 percent to 825,000 won, LG Energy Solution climbed 0.17 percent to 592,000 won, and Samsung SDI added 1.46 percent to 766,000 won.

Among the losers, Hyundai Motor dropped 1.85 percent to 191,400 won and Kia shed 2.13 percent to 82,700 won, following the news that the two carmakers were not included in the list of 16 electric vehicles that qualify for the U.S. federal tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act.

Naver lost 2.13 percent to 192,800 won, and Kakao closed down 1.83 percent to 59,000 won.

The local currency ended at 1,318.6 won against the dollar, up 7.5 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year government bonds gained 0.9 basis points to 3.294 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bonds jumped 8.7 basis points to 3.604 percent.

BY SOHN DONG-JOO, YONHAP [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]