Kospi ends week down 0.54% with tech shares leading losses

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Kospi ends week down 0.54% with tech shares leading losses

Published: 01 Nov. 2024, 17:29

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

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,542.36 points on Friday. [YONHAP]

Shares fell for the third consecutive session Friday, led by tech share losses. The local currency rose against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi lost 13.79 points, or 0.54 percent, to close at 2,542.36, extending its losing streak from Wednesday. Kosdaq lost 14.01 points, or 1.89 percent, to close at 729.05.

Trading volume was light at 315.1 million shares worth 7.8 trillion won ($5.66 billion), with decliners beating gainers 599 to 288.

Foreigners and institutions dumped a net 38.8 billion won and 188.4 billion won, respectively, while individuals scooped up a net 214.4 billion won.

Overnight, U.S. stocks finished sharply lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.9 percent and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.8 percent after a disappointing outlook from Meta Platforms and Microsoft.

In Seoul, tech shares led the decline.

Samsung Electronics fell 1.52 percent to 58,300 won and SK hynix retreated 2.2 percent to 182,200 won.

Naver dropped 0.18 percent to 169,700 won and Kakao declined 2.17 percent to 36,150 won.

Shinsegae slid 2.41 percent to 150,100 won and CJ ENM decreased 2.23 percent to 61,500 won.

But battery shares finished in positive territory as LG Energy Solution rose 1.23 percent to 412,500 won and Posco Future M added 1.56 percent to 228,000 won.

Korea Zinc, struggling with an intensifying management battle, rose 0.6 percent to 1 million won, and SK Innovation jumped 3.75 percent to 121,800 won after merging with an affiliate, SK E&S.

The local currency was trading at 1,379.4 won against the dollar as of 3:30 p.m., down 0.5 won from the previous session.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds lost 1 basis point to 2.932 percent, and the return on the benchmark U.S. 10-year government bond fell 1.3 basis points to 4.286 percent.

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