Seoul: Stocks see biggest drop in three weeks as Kakao, Naver weigh

[SEOUL] South Korean shares closed lower on Thursday to mark their sharpest fall in three weeks as platform tech companies like Kakao and Naver dropped on concerns of a regulatory crackdown.

The won weakened and the benchmark bond yield fell.

The benchmark Kospi ended 48.29 points or 1.53 per cent lower at 3,114.70.

Among the heavyweights, technology giant Samsung Electronics fell 1.31 per cent and peer SK Hynix dropped 2.83 per cent. LG Chem shed 1.06 per cent and Naver declined 2.56 per cent.

Kakao dropped 7.22 per cent amid fresh discussions by ruling party members of new regulation against platforms.

Investor sentiment was weakening as many are expecting fresh regulations on Internet platform companies, while concerns about slowing US economy also weighed, Mirae Asset Securities' analyst Kim Seok-hwan said.

Foreigners were net sellers of 315.9 billion won (S$363.3 million) worth of shares on the main board.

The won was quoted at 1,169.2 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, down 0.21 per cent.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,169.2 per dollar, down 0.2 per cent, while in non-deliverable forward trading, its one-month contract was quoted at 1,169.7.

The Kospi has risen 8.40 per cent so far this year, but lost 2.2 per cent in the previous 30 trading sessions.

The trading volume was 910.45 million shares. Of the total traded issues of 921, the number of advancing shares was 212.

The won has lost 7.1 per cent against the dollar so far this year.

In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.06 point to 110.20.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 0.5 basis point to 1.498 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 2.1 basis points to 1.998 per cent.

REUTERS