Seoul: Stocks end lower as US yields rise, virus cases surge

[SEOUL] South Korean shares closed lower on Wednesday (Nov 24) as growing bets of an earlier-than-expected tightening in US monetary policy lifted Treasury yields, and daily cases of Covid-19 in the country touched a record.

The won gained, while the benchmark bond yield fell.

The Kospi ended down 3.04 points or 0.10 per cent at 2,994.29.

South Korea reported a daily record of 4,116 new cases for Tuesday (Nov 23), as the country battles to contain a spike in serious cases after switching to its "living with Covid-19"plan.

Among heavyweights, technology giant Samsung Electronics fell 0.66 per cent, while peer SK Hynix and battery maker LG Chem added 0.42 per cent and 0.95 per cent, respectively. Platform company Naver slid 1.25 per cent.

Foreigners were net buyers of 316.6 billion won (S$364.2 million) worth of shares on the main board.

Taylor, Texas has been picked as the location for Samsung's new US$17 billion plant to make advanced chips for functions such as mobile, 5G, high-performance computing and artificial intelligence, the company said.

New Zealand's central bank lifted interest rates for the second time in as many months on Wednesday, just a day before South Korea's central bank holds the last policy meeting of the year, where it is widely expected to raise rates.

The won was quoted at 1,186.5 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, up 0.27 per cent.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,186.1 per dollar, up 0.3 per cent, while in non-deliverable forward trading, its 1-month contract was quoted at 1,186.6.

In money and debt markets, December futures on 3-year treasury bonds rose 0.07 point to 108.40.

The benchmark 10-year yield fell by 0.6 basis point to 2.394 per cent.

REUTERS