Seoul: Shares fall on profit taking but post biggest monthly gain in 19 years
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[SEOUL] South Korean shares posted their sharpest monthly gain in 19 years on coronavirus vaccine-led recovery hopes, even as they slumped on Monday on profit-taking and worries about domestic coronavirus infections. The won slid, while the benchmark bond yield rose.
The benchmark Kospi ended down 42.11 points or 1.60 per cent at 2,591.34, after rising 0.58 per cent in early trade. For the month, the index surged 14.3 per cent, the sharpest monthly gain since November 2001.
South Korea reported 438 new coronavirus cases on Monday, a day after authorities announced a ban on year-end parties and some music lessons as infections surged at their fastest pace since the early days of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, neighbouring China's November factory activity expanded at its fastest pace since September 2017, keeping its recovery from the coronavirus crisis solidly on track.
Heavyweights Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and LG Chem led declines, tumbling 2.2 per cent, 1.3 per cent and 1.2 per cent, respectively.
Foreigners sold net 2.4 trillion won (S$2.90 billion) worth of Kospi shares, the largest on record, after purchasing a total net 6.3 trillion won worth of shares in November, the largest monthly amount since September 2013.
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"MSCI weightage changes are due to take effect, triggering a huge foreign selloff today," said Daishin Securities' analyst Lee Kyoung-min.
"Growing pressure on Kospi valuation and foreign investors' profit-taking ahead of key economic data release led the decline," Mr Lee added.
The won ended at 1,106.5 per US dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.3 per cent lower than its previous close. It rose for a sixth straight month of gains, gaining 2.6 per cent, the the longest winning streak since December 2013.
In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,106.6, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,106.5.
The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 0.4 basis point to 0.984 per cent.
REUTERS
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