Seoul: Stocks end at lowest since Dec 2020 on surging US yields

[SEOUL] South Korean shares on Wednesday closed at their lowest level since late December on worries about surging US Treasury yields, while investors await US payrolls data later in the week. The won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.

The Kospi ended 53.86 points or 1.82 per cent lower at 2,908.31, the lowest close since Dec 30, 2020. It reversed early gains of as much as 1.06 per cent that tracked a rebound on Wall Street overnight.

Among the heavyweights, chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell 1.25 per cent and 1.43 per cent, respectively, while Internet platform company Naver rose 0.67 per cent.

Samsung Electronics is expected to report its best quarterly profit in three years and a record revenue on Friday, on rising memory chip prices and brisk sales of its new foldable phones.

US Treasury yields rose on Tuesday, as worries about the debt ceiling prompted investors to move away from the shortest end of the curve, while inflation concerns weighed on longer-dated debt.

Investors are focused on US payrolls data due on Friday that could reveal the Federal Reserve's next move on tapering its economic support.

Foreigners were net sellers of 278.7 billion won (S$317.2 million) worth of shares on the main board.

The won ended at 1,192.3 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.30 per cent lower than its previous close.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,192.9 per dollar, down 0.5 per cent from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,193.3.

In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.20 point to 109.01.

The benchmark 10-year yield rose by 9 basis points to 2.381 per cent.

REUTERS