Seoul: Stocks end lower on foreign, institutional investor sell-off

[SEOUL] South Korean shares ended lower on Thursday (Oct 28) due to a sell-off by foreign and institutional investors, but the losses were capped as solid earnings boosted chip shares. The won ended flat, while the benchmark bond yield fell.

The benchmark Kospi ended down 15.94 points, or 0.53 per cent, at 3,009.55, reversing earlier gains of as much as 0.30 per cent.

It slid 0.77 per cent on Wednesday (Oct 27).

Among the heavyweights, technology giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose 0.86 per cent and 4.93 per cent respectively, while battery maker LG Chem added 3.03 per cent.

Samsung Electronics reported its highest quarterly profit in 3 years, though it said it expects component shortages to affect chip demand in the current quarter.

That came days after SK Hynix posted its best quarterly profit in nearly 3 years and the company saying it expected a steady demand for its memory chips.

South Korean exports are set for a 12th consecutive month of growth in October, while inflation will likely increase at its fastest pace in nearly a decade due to surging energy and commodities prices, a Reuters poll showed.

Foreigners were net sellers of 248.9 billion won (S$286.7million) worth of shares on the main board, while institutional investors sold net 113.0 billion won.

The won ended at 1,169.7 per US dollar on the onshore settlement platform, nearly unchanged from its previous close.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,169.4 per US dollar, up 0.2 per cent from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,170.6.

In money and debt markets, December futures on 3-year treasury bonds rose 0.23 points to 108.18.

The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 3.8 basis points to 2.001 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 5.8 basis points to 2.426 per cent.

REUTERS