Seoul: Shares fall on worries over surging coronavirus cases

[SEOUL] South Korean shares fell on Tuesday as worries grew over surging coronavirus cases at home and abroad. The won weakened and the benchmark bond yield fell.

The number of coronavirus deaths in the United States crossed 300,000 on Monday as the hardest hit nation started its first vaccine inoculations, while tighter Covid-19 restrictions were imposed on London.

Back home, South Korea's prime minister pleaded with residents on Tuesday to abide by social distancing rules to avoid even greater restrictions in the face of the country's largest wave of coronavirus infections.

South Korea reported 880 new coronavirus cases as of midnight Monday, up from 718 a day earlier.

The benchmark Kospi closed down 5.38 points or 0.19 per cent at 2,756.82.

Worries grew over stricter lockdown measures imposed by major economies, while China's economic data for November came in line with expectations and could not lift investor sentiment, said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.

China's industrial output expanded for the eighth straight month in November as the economic recovery gathered pace and global demand picked up.

LG Display rose 6.9 per cent, hitting its highest since June 2019, on upbeat earnings forecast.

Foreigners were net sellers of 387.7 billion won (S$473.5 million) worth of shares on the main board.

The won closed at 1,093.3 per US dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.14 per cent lower than its previous close of 1,091.8.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,092.6 per dollar, up 0 per cent from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,092.2.

In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.02 point to 111.70.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 0.4 basis point to 0.982 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 0.3 basis point to 1.669 per cent.

REUTERS