Seoul: Stocks post biggest drop in 5 weeks

[SEOUL] South Korean shares posted their biggest drop in 5 weeks on Monday (Jan 24), as investors weighed concerns about the US Federal Reserve tightening monetary policy and a possible Russian attack on Ukraine. The Korean won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield fell.

The benchmark Kospi fell 42.29 points, or 1.49 per cent, to close at 2,792.00.

Among the heavyweights, technology giant Samsung Electronics fell 0.66 per cent and peer SK Hynix was flat, while LG Chem fell 3.31 per cent and Naver fell 1.35 per cent.

Uncertainty over the pace of US monetary policy tightening and a sharp decline in Wall Street shares on Friday hit Korean stocks, while geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe also added to worries, said Lee Kyoung-min, analyst at Daishin Securities.

Foreigners were net sellers of 435.6 billion won (S$489.8 million) worth of shares on the main board.

The won was quoted at 1,196.1 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.18 per cent lower than its previous close at 1,194.0.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,195.6 per dollar, down 0.3 per cent from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its 1-month contract was quoted at 1,196.1.

The Kospi has fallen 6.23 per cent so far this year, but lost 6.4 per cent in the previous 30 sessions.

The trading volume during the session in the Kospi index was 468.25 million shares. Of the total traded issues of 930, the number of advancing shares was 85.

The won has lost 0.6 per cent against the dollar so far this year.

In money and debt markets, March futures on 3-year treasury bonds rose 0.1 point to 108.20.

The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 1.8 basis points to 2.114 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 0.1 basis point to 2.539 per cent.

REUTERS