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Kospi tanks 1.89% on expanding trade war jitters

Published: 28 Mar. 2025, 16:19 Updated: 28 Mar. 2025, 16:28

KIM JU-YEON
[email protected]

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,557.98 points on March 28, down 49.17 points, or 1.89 percent, from the previous trading session. [NEWS1]

Shares ended nearly 2 percent lower Friday on foreign selling amid concerns that the U.S. government will widen its trade war. The won fell in value against the dollar.

The Kospi dropped 49.17 points, or 1.89 percent, to close at 2,557.98. The Kosdaq slipped 13.73 points, or 1.94 percent, to 693.76.

Trade volume was moderate at 507.56 million shares worth 7.07 trillion won ($4.8 billion), with losers far outnumbering winners 728 to 168.

Foreigners sold a net 640.59 billion won worth of stocks, offsetting institutions' and individuals' purchases of 2.9 billion won and 541.45 billion won in stocks, respectively.

The Kospi opened lower, tracking losses on Wall Street.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.37 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite declined 0.53 percent.

Planned U.S. tariffs on all imported vehicles fueled uncertainties in the stock market, weighing on investor sentiment, analysts said.

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to impose 25 percent tariffs on all car imports on April 2, a move that will affect the global automotive market.

In Seoul, most large-cap stocks declined.

Samsung Electronics fell 2.59 percent to 60,200 won, carmaker Hyundai Motor went down 3.53 percent to 205,000 won and steelmaker Posco Holdings shed 2.83 percent to 292,000 won.

National flag carrier Korean Air dropped 1.13 percent to 21,950 won, and Lotte Chemical plunged 5.57 percent to 67,800 won.

Among gainers, cosmetics firm Amorepacific rose 1.46 percent to 104,500 won, while shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries climbed 1.27 percent to 280,000 won.

The local currency was trading at 1,467.10 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., up 1.8 won from the previous session.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, ended lower. The yield on three-year government bonds gained 1.5 basis points to 2.636 percent, and the return on the benchmark 10-year U.S. government bonds rose 1.3 basis points to 4.362 percent.

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