Seoul: Shares fall 1.8% in post-holiday session

SOUTH Korean shares posted the sharpest fall in two weeks on Tuesday (Oct 11) as traders returned from holidays amid concern that faster inflation will keep driving interest rates higher and crimp economic growth. The Korean won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.

The benchmark Kospi fell 40.77 points or 1.83 per cent to 2,192.07 as of 6.30 am GMT at close, the sharpest fall since Sep 30.

Among heavyweights, technology giant Samsung Electronics fell 1.42 per cent and peer SK Hynix lost 1.1 per cent, while battery maker LG Energy Solution advanced 3.11 per cent. There is still expectations for a faster tapering by the Fed and traders are catching up with that after a holiday on Monday, said Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.

The trading volume during the session in the Kospi index was 846.31 million shares. Of the total traded issues of 932, the number of advancing shares was 60.

Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 199.7 billion won (S$200.3 million) on the main board.

The won was quoted at 1,435.2 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 1.59 per cent lower than its previous close at 1,412.4.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,435.6 per dollar, down 0.6 per cent from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,434.2.

The Kospi has fallen 26.38 per cent so far this year, and has dropped 8.3 per cent in the previous 30 trading sessions.

The won is down 17.2 per cent against the dollar so far this year.

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Seoul: Shares post biggest weekly gain in nearly two years

In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.16 point to 101.54.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 6.7 basis points to 4.342 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 8.8 basis points to 4.304 per cent. REUTERS