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Stocks fall to six-month low after extended holiday

Published: 04 Oct. 2023, 19:30

KIM JI-YE
[email protected]

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show the stock market closing at 2,405.69 points on Wednesday, down 2.41 percent, or 59.38 points, from the previous trading session.[YONHAP]

Stocks fell to a six-month low Wednesday following a week-long holiday on a sharp decline in big-cap tech shares amid growing concerns the Federal Reserve will keep its rates higher for longer. The local currency fell against the dollar to hit an 11-month low.

The Kospi slid 59.38 points, or 2.41 percent, to close at 2,405.69, the lowest since March.

The secondary Kosdaq plunged 4 percent.

The Kospi's trading volume was moderate at 417.16 million shares worth 9.88 trillion won ($7.25 billion), with losers far outpacing gainers 831 to 76.

Foreigners and institutions dumped a net 399.3 billion won and 467.3 billion won worth of shares, respectively, while retail investors bought a net 833.3 billion won worth of shares.

The indexes plunged as concerns grew over the Fed's monetary tightening policy direction following a six-day close of the stock markets during the extended fall harvest holiday that ran through the previous day.

Most top-cap tech shares ended in negative terrain on the Seoul bourse.

Samsung Electronics fell 1.32 percent to 67,500 won, LG Energy Solution plunged 4.3 percent to 456,000 won, and Samsung SDI tumbled 5.37 percent to 484,500 won.

Posco and its affiliates were also weak, with Posco Holdings down 4.49 percent to 511,000 won and Posco Future M down 6.54 percent to 336,000 won.

Other tech stocks also lost ground.

Naver shot down 5.11 percent to 191,200 won, and Kakao lost 5.35 percent to 41,600 won.

Battery makers and chemicals sharply lost ground.

LG Chem slid 2.11 percent to 486,000 won, and SK Innovation retreated more than 5.1 percent to 141,100 won.

SK hynix was among the few gainers, adding 0.61 percent to 115,400 won.

Auto shares were mixed.

Hyundai Motor was down 0.16 percent to 190,800 won, while Kia was up 0.61 percent to 81,900 won.

The local currency ended at 1,363.50 won against the U.S. dollar, the lowest level since November last year.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed sharply lower. The yield on three-year treasury bonds rose 22.4 basis points to 4.108 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds climbed 26.1 basis points to 4.203 percent.

BY KIM JI-YE, YONHAP [[email protected]]