Seoul: Stocks end at one-week low as Kakao, Naver drop on regulatory risks

[SEOUL] South Korean shares closed on Wednesday at their lowest in more than a week, as regulatory risks dragged technology heavyweights Naver and Kakao, while a sharp rise in local Covid-19 cases dented sentiment.

The won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.

The Kospi ended down 24.43 points or 0.77 per cent at 3,162.99, its lowest since Aug 30.

The country's financial regulator said financial services platform apps such as Kakao's soon-to-be-listed unit Kakao Pay must stop their financial product comparison and recommendation service by Sept 24 unless they register with the regulator or receive a licence or permission to carry it out.

That pulled down mobile messenger app operator Kakao and Naver, the country's dominant web portal operator which also offers financial services through unit Naver Financial, by 10.06 per cent and 7.87 per cent, respectively.

Other heavyweights such as chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose 0.26 per cent and 1.44 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 2,050 new Covid-19 cases for Tuesday, a jump from 1,597 a day earlier.

Foreigners were net sellers of 282.3 billion won (S$325.8 million) worth of shares on the main board.

The won ended at 1,166.7 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, down 0.76 per cent.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,166.0 per dollar, down 0.3 per cent, while in non-deliverable forward trading, its one-month contract was quoted at 1,166.4.

In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.08 point to 110.24.

The benchmark 10-year yield rose by 4.2 basis points to 2.016 per cent.

REUTERS