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Stocks dip as investors dump Samsung, LG

Published: 13 Mar. 2025, 17:01

SHIN HA-NEE
[email protected]

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,573.64 points on March 13, down 1.18 points, or 0.05 percent, from the previous trading session. [NEWS1]

Stocks finished slightly lower Thursday, as investors unloaded blue chips following gains the previous session. The local currency fell in value against the greenback.

The benchmark Kospi fell 1.18 points, or 0.05 percent, to close at 2,573.64.

Trade volume was moderate at 422 million shares worth 12.95 trillion won ($8.97 billion) with losers outpacing winners 539 to 331.

Foreign and retail investors together sold a net 556.1 billion won while institutions bought a net 444.5 billion won.

Overnight, Wall Street stabilized following a two-session losing streak after the country's consumer price index (CPI) for February came in lower than market expectations, helping ease uncertainty stemming from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies.

The S&P 500 rose 0.49 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.22 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, slipped 0.2 percent.

The Kospi gained traction in the morning session, rising as high as the 2,600-mark in early trading, but later wiped out its earlier gains in the afternoon session.

Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said the February U.S. CPI data had “helped push stagflation concerns among investors to the sidelines” in early trading but that the Kospi had ultimately finished lower.

Samsung Electronics dropped 0.36 percent to 54,700 won, and battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution slipped 2.3 percent to 340,500 won.

Bio shares also declined, with Samsung Biologics sliding 2.41 percent to 1,053,000 won and Celltrion falling 1.23 percent to 184,600 won.

Steel and chemical shares also retreated. Posco Holdings dropped 0.48 percent to 312,500 won, and LG Chem slid 3.39 percent to 242,500 won.

In contrast, defense equipment manufacturer Hanwha Aerospace soared 6.32 percent to 707,000 won, and shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean jumped 3.52 percent to 73,500 won.

Automaker Hyundai Motor also gained 1.41 percent to finish at 201,000 won while chipmaker SK hynix edged up 0.4 percent to 199,700 won.

The local currency was trading at 1,453.8 won against the dollar at 3:30 p.m., up 2.8 won from the previous session.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, ended lower. Three-year government bonds yield rose 2.0 basis points to 2.570 percent, while the return on the benchmark 10-year U.S. government bonds rose 3.1 basis points to 4.312 percent.

BY SHIN HA-NEE, YONHAP [[email protected]]