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Kospi closes down 0.62% ahead of Trump's 'reciprocal' tariffs

Published: 02 Apr. 2025, 17:30

SHIN HA-NEE
[email protected]

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,505.86 points on April 2, down 0.62 percent, or 15.53 points, from the previous trading session. [NEWS1]

Shares ended lower Wednesday as investors await what U.S. President Donald Trump has been calling reciprocal tariffs set to be announced this week. The won's value rose against the dollar.

The Kospi fell 15.53 points, or 0.62 percent, to close at 2,505.86.

Trade volume was slim at 510.62 million shares worth 7.24 trillion won ($4.9 billion), with decliners outpacing gainers 593 to 275.

Foreigners sold a net 724.47 billion won worth of stocks, offsetting institutions' and individuals' stock purchases valued at 148.04 billion won and 478.18 billion won, respectively.

On top of 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, Trump is set to launch new tariffs April 2, which will affect all U.S. trading partners.

In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed.

Samsung Electronics closed flat, unchanged from the previous session at 58,800 won.

Carmaker Hyundai Motor fell 1.16 percent to 196,300 won, and Kia shed 1.18 percent to 92,100 won.

Steelmaker Posco Holdings declined 2.68 percent to 272,000 won and Hyundai Steel dropped 2.03 percent to 24,100 won amid growing concerns about the impact of sweeping U.S. tariffs on the steel industry.

LG Chem plunged 4.71 percent to 232,500 won, and refiner SK Innovation was down 3.54 percent to 106,200 won.

Among gainers, chipmaker SK hynix rose 0.46 percent to 197,900 won, and shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean climbed 0.43 percent to 69,600 won.

Battery maker LG Energy Solution advanced 0.3 percent to 329,000 won.

The Kosdaq dipped 0.95 percent, or 6.60 points, to close at 684.85.

Drug developer Alteogen slid 2.42 percent to 362,500 won. Ecopro BM, a battery part supplier, lost 4.6 percent to close at 91,300 won.

The local currency was trading at 1,466.6 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 5.3 won from the previous session.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, ended mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds rose 0.4 basis points to 2.584 percent, and the return on the benchmark 10-year U.S. government bonds dropped 3.3 basis points to 4.173 percent.

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