Won sees nine-month high against dollar ahead of U.S. data release

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Won sees nine-month high against dollar ahead of U.S. data release

Published: 30 Sep. 2024, 18:05 Updated: 30 Sep. 2024, 18:15

CHO YONG-JUN
cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,593.27 on Monday. [YONHAP]

Shares fell by more than 2 percent Monday as investors remained on the sidelines ahead of the release of key economic data from the United States later this week. The local currency ended with a nine-month high against the dollar in value.

The benchmark Kospi dropped 2.13 percent, or 56.51 points, to 2,593.27.

Trading volume was moderate at 352.4 million shares worth 10.5 trillion won ($8.03 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 708 to 181.

Institutions and foreign investors dumped a net 1.21 trillion won worth of local shares, while retail investors purchased a net 1.19 trillion won worth of shares combined.

Market watchers said investors were taking a wait-and-see approach ahead of the release of the U.S. manufacturing purchasing managers index for September and the latest jobs data due this week.

The market's focus this week will likely center around U.S. employment data results and discussions from the U.S. vice presidential candidates' debate, according to KB Securities analyst Kim Ji-won.

"With market closures scheduled for this week due to the holidays, a wait-and-see approach is expected to dominate," Kim added.

Most blue chips fell across the board, with chip and bio shares leading the overall decline. Samsung Electronics plunged 4.21 percent to 61,500 won and Samsung Biologics slipped 0.91 percent to 977,000 won. SK hynix dropped 5.01 percent to 174,600 won.

Automotive and financial shares also lost ground. Hyundai Motor plummeted 4.13 percent to 244,000 won, and KB Financial fell 3.46 percent.

Steelmakers and refiners also retreated. Leading steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 0.39 percent to end at 385,000 won, SK Innovation dropped 1.35 percent to 117,100 won

The local currency was trading at 1,307.8 won against the dollar, down 10.8 won from the previous session. The Kosdaq lost 10.61 points, or 1.37 percent, to close at 763.88.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on the three-year government bonds lost 1.7 basis points to 2.811 percent, and the return on the benchmark 10-year U.S. government bonds dropped 4.6 basis points to 3.750 percent.

BY CHO YONG-JUN, YONHAP [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]