Kospi plummets 1.74% on back of Wall Street drop

Finance

Published: 25 Jul. 2024, 16:53

Kospi plummets 1.74% on back of Wall Street drop

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,710.65 points on Thursday, down 1.74 percent, or 48.06 points, from the previous trading session.[YONHAP]

Shares dipped by nearly 2 percent Thursday as tech and auto stocks crashed following an overnight drop on Wall Street. The local currency fell in value against the dollar.

The Kospi lost 48.06 points, or 1.74 percent, to close at 2,710.65.

Trading volume was heavy at 433 million shares worth 13.4 trillion won ($9.67 billion) with losers outnumbering gainers 728 to 160.

Foreigners remained net sellers for a second straight session, dumping a net 672.5 billion won worth of local shares, while retail investors scooped up a net 825.6 billion won. Institutions dumped a net 157.2 billion won.

The Kospi opened sharply lower, tracking an overnight dip on Wall Street caused by worse-than-expected performances by major tech companies, including Tesla.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.25 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 3.64 percent Wednesday.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics lost 1.95 percent to fall to 80,400 won, while SK hynix plunged 8.87 percent to 190,000 won despite its stellar performance in the second quarter.

"Local shares finished lower, led by SK hynix, due to a sharp drop in the U.S. stock market," IBK Investment & Securities analyst Chung Yong-taek said. "Concerns about the overvaluation of tech shares and slowing growth affected market sentiment, which in turn affected our stock market."

Autos also suffered heavy losses, with Hyundai Motor dipping 2.71 percent to 251,500 won, and its affiliate Kia shedding 2.87 percent to 115,000 won.

Pharmaceuticals and chemical firms finished in positive territory, with Celltrion and LG Chem advancing 3 percent and 0.97 percent to 199,200 won and 313,000 won, respectively.

Battery maker LG Energy Solution added 3.42 percent to 332,500 won, while Samsung SDS gained 0.33 percent to 151,400 won.

The local currency was trading at 1,385.45 won against the dollar as of 3:30 p.m., up 1.65 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds fell 1.7 basis points to 3.03 percent, and the return on the benchmark U.S. 10-year benchmark bonds rose 3.8 basis points to 4.289 percent.

BY KIM JU-YEON, YONHAP [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]