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Korean shares finish down Friday after Fed hints at further rate hikes

Published: 10 Nov. 2023, 17:31

KIM JU-YEON
[email protected]

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show the Kospi closing at 2,409.66 points on Friday, down 0.72 percent, or 17.42 points, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Shares finished lower Friday after the U.S. Federal Reserve's chief hinted that interest rates could be raised further, and Tesla shares dropped overnight. The local currency depreciated against the dollar.

The Kospi dropped 17.42 points, or 0.72 percent, to close at 2,409.66.

Trading volume was slim at 304.12 million shares worth 5.61 trillion won ($4.26 billion). Losers outnumbered gainers 600 to 259.

U.S. stocks sagged overnight after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated interest rates may be hiked again if needed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.9 percent.

"Concerns of a potential rate hike and upcoming releases of economic data in the United States next week, along with the federal government budget negotiations in Washington, are likely to strengthen investor sentiment toward profit-taking," Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said.

In Seoul, most market heavyweights ended weaker. Leading automakers Hyundai Motor dropped 0.57 percent to 173,700 won and Kia fell 0.65 percent to 77,000 won.

Posco Holdings slumped 2.82 percent to 447,500 won, and SK Innovation tumbled 3.46 percent to 131,300 won.

Bio shares also went south, with SK bioscience plummeting 5.09 percent to 65,300 won and Celltrion slipping 0.51 percent to 157,200 won.

Battery-related stocks also dropped in line with a drop in Tesla after HSBC's recommendation that investors unload shares, citing risks from CEO Elon Musk.

LG Energy Solution plunged 4.2 percent to 411,000 won and Samsung SDI also dropped 4.44 percent to 420,000 won.

Chipmakers, however, added ground, with Samsung Electronics edging up 0.28 percent to 70,500 won and SK hynix climbing 1.95 percent to 130,500 won.

The local currency ended at 1,316.80 won against the U.S. dollar, up 6.70 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year government bonds rose 0.7 points to 3.863 percent, and the return on the benchmark U.S. 10-year government bonds gained 12.8 points to 4.622 percent.

BY KIM JU-YEON, YONHAP [[email protected]]