Seoul: Stocks end lower on profit-taking

[SEOUL] South Korean shares fell on Wednesday (Oct 27) as traders booked profits after 2 straight sessions of gains, with the focus on Samsung Electronics earnings on Thursday (Oct 28). The won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.

The benchmark Kospi ended down 23.59 points or 0.77 per cent at 3,025.49, after gaining 1.43 per cent in the last 2 sessions.

Among heavyweights, chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dropped 1.41 per cent and 0.49 per cent, respectively, while battery maker LG Chem slid 0.60 per cent.

Foreigners were net sellers of 293 billion won (S$337.9 million) worth of shares on the main board.

The won ended at 1,170 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.21 per cent lower than its previous close at 1,167.6.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,169.8 per dollar, down 0.2 per cent from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its 1-month contract was quoted at 1,170.7.

In money and debt markets, December futures on 3-year treasury bonds fell 0.32 point to 108.07.

The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 9.4 basis points to 2.041 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 2.4 basis points to 2.480 per cent.

REUTERS