Seoul: Stocks end flat as China's tech sell-off, Ukraine woes offset LGES boost

[SEOUL] South Korean shares ended flat on Friday (Mar 25), despite a near 8 per cent boost in battery maker LG Energy Solution (LGES), as investor sentiment was hurt by losses in Chinese tech stocks and the Ukraine crisis. The Korean won ended steady, while the benchmark bond yield rose.

The benchmark Kospi closed flat at 2,729.98. For the week, the index gained 0.85 per cent, following a 1.72 per cent increase a week earlier.

Shares of LGES soared 7.6 per cent, leading the index gains, after the supplier for EV makers Tesla and Lucid announced an 1.7 trillion won (S$1.89 billion) investment plan to build a battery factory in Arizona by 2024.

Capping benchmark gains, other heavyweights slid as investors assessed the impact of the Ukraine crisis and US rate-hike prospects. Chipmaker SK Hynix and web portal operator Naver dropped 2.07 per cent and 2.06 per cent, respectively.

Western leaders on Thursday agreed to strengthen their forces in Eastern Europe, increase military aid to Ukraine and tighten their sanctions on Russia, as Moscow's assault on its neighbour entered the second month.

Foreigners were net sellers of 553.2 billion won worth of shares on the main board.

The won ended at 1,218.8 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, unchanged from its previous close. It ended the week lower by 0.92 per cent, reversing a 2.02 per cent rise in the previous week.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,219.3, while in non-deliverable forward trading its 1-month contract was quoted at 1,219.1.

In money and debt markets, June futures on 3-year treasury bonds fell 0.11 point to 106.71.

The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 4.8 basis points to 2.501 per cent. REUTERS