Seoul: Stocks end lower on Delta virus woes

[SEOUL] South Korean shares ended lower on Tuesday, hit by worries that a more infectious strain of Covid-19, the Delta variant, might derail the economic recovery, while investors awaited US data later in the week. The won gained, while the benchmark bond yield fell.

The Kospi closed down 15.21 points or 0.46 per cent at 3,286.68.

Chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dropped 1.10 per cent and 0.79 per cent, respectively, while internet giant Naver rose 0.86 per cent.

Foreigners were net sellers of 550.3 billion won (S$654.7 million) worth of shares on the main board.

"As the Delta virus spreads, investors seem to be worries that the global recovery momentum may lose steam," said Huh Jae-hwan, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities.

Australia is battling small but fast growing outbreaks with snap lockdowns in several cities, while Indonesia is also grappling with record-high cases. Malaysia is set to extend a lockdown and Thailand has announced new restrictions.

On Friday, a closely-watched US jobs report for June will be released, which could sway the Federal Reserve's policy outlook and bring forward expectations for interest rate increases.

The won ended at 1,128.5 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.16 per cent higher than its previous close at 1,130.3.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,128.7 per dollar, up 0.1 per cent from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,128.7.

In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.11 point to 109.92.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 0.9 basis point to 1.461 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 2.1 basis points to 2.116 per cent.

REUTERS