Seoul: Stocks end lower after Powell's renomination

[SEOUL] South Korean shares ended lower on Tuesday (Nov 23), in line with Asian peers, as the renomination of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell bolstered bets of a faster-than-expected policy tightening. The won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.

The benchmark Kospi closed down 15.92 points or 0.53 per cent at 2,997.33, following a 1.42 per cent gain on Monday (Nov 22).

The overnight news on Powell buffeted financial markets and kept the US dollar well supported as traders prepared for the imminent end to the Fed bond-buying programme.

Chip giant Samsung Electronics rose 0.53 per cent amid a report that the location of its new US$17 billion chip plant in the United States would be Taylor, Texas, though the company said a final decision has not been made.

Its peers SK Hynix fell 0.42 per cent, while other heavyweights LG Chem and Naver also dropped 3.27 per cent and 2.44 per cent, respectively.

Foreigners were net buyers of 279.7 billion won (S$321.2 million) worth of shares on the main board.

Meanwhile, South Korea's central bank is due to hold the monetary policy meeting on Thursday (Nov 25) where it is widely expected to raise rates, as predicted by all 30 analysts in a Reuters poll.

The won ended at 1,189.7 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.39 per cent lower than its previous close.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,189.5 per dollar, up 0.1 per cent from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its 1-month contract was quoted at 1,190.4.

In money and debt markets, December futures on 3-year treasury bonds fell 0.01 point to 108.32.

The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 1.5 basis points to 2.032 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 0.6 basis point to 2.392 per cent.

REUTERS