SEOUL– South Korean stocks fell Monday, as U.S. data pointing to strong consumption renewed worries the Federal Reserve will keep its hawkish rate hikes to tame inflation, analysts said. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) sank 20.97 points, or 0.87 percent, to finish at 2,402.64. Trading volume was moderate at 350.2 million shares worth 6.52 trillion won (US$4.93 billion), with decliners far outnumbering gainers 659 to 218.
“Tech drops in U.S. stocks markets, led by hotter-than-expected inflation data, weighed on local stocks,” Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities Co.
“The fact that electric vehicle and secondary battery makers on Wall Street, including Tesla, posted drops sapped investor sentiment in Korean markets, notably in big caps,” Seo said.
U.S. personal consumption expenditures for January rose 0.6 percent, higher than the 0.2 percent gain in December. Consumer spending also went up at a faster pace in January compared with the previous month.
All three major indexes on Wall Street fell more than 1 percent Friday (U.S. time).
Shares closed lower across the board, with tech and bio blue chips leading the decline.
Market behemoth Samsung Electronics fell 1.31 percent to 60,500 won, with top battery maker LG Energy Solution losing 0.6 percent to 508,000 won.
Samsung Biologics dipped 1.66 percent to 770,000 won. Hyundai Motors slid 0.35 percent to 173,000 won.
Steel and metal stocks, in contrast, closed higher, and POSCO Chemical gained 2.09 percent to 220,000 won. Korea Zinc, a major nonferrous metal smelter, rose 1.36 percent to 596,000 won.
The local currency fell sharply against the U.S. dollar Monday, ending at 1,323.00 won, down 18.2 won from Friday’s close.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed sharply lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 12.8 basis points to 3.683 percent and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds gaiend 12.7 basis points to 3.692 percent.
Source: Yonhap News Agency