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Stocks finish nearly flat ahead of Fed chair's views in Europe

Published: 27 Jun. 2023, 17:03

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show the Kospi closing at 2,581.39 points on Tuesday, up 0.03 percent, or 0.81 points, from the previous trading session. [NEWS1]

Stocks finished nearly flat on Tuesday as large-cap stocks traded mixed to trim losses earlier in the trading session. The won rose against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi slipped 0.81 points, or 0.03 percent, to finish at 2,581.39. Trading volume was moderate at 528.7 million shares worth 8.36 trillion won ($6.42 billion) with gainers outnumbering decliners 437 to 430.

"Powell's remarks due later this week could further weigh on stocks, though it may be temporary," said Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.

"From a sectoral point of view, Tesla's sharp fall on Wall Street added volatility to secondary battery related stocks," Han said.

Tesla dived more than 6 percent overnight after Goldman Sachs became the latest brokerage to downgrade the electric carmaker's rating to "neutral," from "buy," citing an overvaluation from the recent rally.

There is interest on what Powell will say about the Fed's hawkish monetary tightening and fears the economy will go into recession as he is due to appear at a forum in Portugal on Wednesday.

Tech heavyweights started lower, echoing the decline in their U.S. peers on Monday, but pared most of the losses in the later trading hours.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics gained 0.28 percent to 72,600 won, while SK hynix lost 0.44 percent to 113,000 won.

LG Energy Solution fell 0.53 percent to 561,000 won, and Samsung SDI shed 0.73 percent to 678,000 won.

Hyundai Motor jumped 2.74 percent to 206,000 won, and Kia climbed 0.82 percent to 86,200 won.

Naver shrunk 1.59 percent to 185,900 won, and Kakao declined 1.3 percent to 49,350 won.

State-run utility company Korea Electric Power Corporation soared 4.72 percent to 19,980 won on prospects for a turnaround after electricity fee hikes.

The local currency ended at 1,300.30 won against the dollar, down 6.0 won from Monday's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds dropped 3.1 basis points to 3.537 percent, and the yield on benchmark 10-year government bonds retreated 1.7 basis points to 3.722 percent.

BY SOHN DONG-JOO, YONHAP [[email protected]]