Seoul: Stocks finish lower on virus anxiety

[SEOUL] South Korean shares slipped for a fifth straight day on Wednesday as domestic Covid-19 cases rose to a record high, while concerns about a decline in chip prices drove tech shares lower.

The benchmark Kospi fell 22.57 points, or 0.70 per cent, to 3,220.62.

Among heavyweights, technology giant Samsung Electronics fell 2.12 per cent and peer SK Hynix dipped 6.22 per cent, while LG Chem shed 0.12 per cent and Naver dropped 0.34 per cent.

Analysts are expecting DRAM prices to decline, which pushed down Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix shares, said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.

South Korea reported more than 2,200 new daily Covid-19 cases, a record since the pandemic began last January.

Foreigners were net sellers of 1,603.0 billion won (S$1.88 billion) worth of shares on the main board.

The Kospi has risen 12.08 per cent so far this year, and lost 1.3 per cent in the previous 30 trading sessions.

The trading volume during the session in the Kospi index was 608.30 million shares. Of the total traded issues of 918, the number of advancing shares was 299.

REUTERS