Seoul: Stocks flat before Fed, virus concerns at home dent sentiment

[SEOUL] South Korean shares closed flat on Wednesday (Dec 15) as traders braced for a hawkish US Federal Reserve, while record high daily coronavirus cases at home weighed on investor sentiment.

The Korean won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.

The benchmark Kospi rose 1.44 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 2,989.39.

Among heavyweights, technology giant Samsung Electronics rose 0.78 per cent and peer SK Hynix climbed 2.07 per cent, while LG Chem fell 0.71 per cent and Naver dropped 1.15 per cent.

The Kospi erased early losses as many investors had already priced in uncertainties related to a likely faster policy tightening by the Fed, said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.

South Korea reported 7,850 new coronavirus cases for Tuesday (Dec 14), its highest daily total, as breakthrough infections among those already vaccinated continue to spike, with the number of patients in serious condition also reaching a fresh high at 964.

Foreigners were net sellers of 24.8 billion won (S$28.6 million) worth of shares on the main board.

The won was quoted at 1,185.2 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.22 per cent lower than its previous close at 1,182.6.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,185.1 per dollar, unchanged from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its 1-month contract was quoted at 1,185.2.

The Kospi has risen 4 per cent so far this year, but lost 0.8 per cent in the previous 30 trading sessions.

The trading volume during the session in the Kospi index was 425.9 million shares. Of the total traded issues of 932, the number of advancing shares was 319.

The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 2.8 basis points to 1.811 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 0.8 basis point to 2.175 per cent.

REUTERS