Seoul: Stocks see worst day in a week on Ukraine nuclear plant fire

[SEOUL] South Korean shares closed lower on Friday (Mar 4), posting their worst day in a week, on concerns around the news of a nuclear power plant fire. The Korean won weakened to the lowest since June 2020, while the benchmark bond yield rose.

The benchmark Kospi closed down 33.65 points, or 1.22 per cent, at 2,713.43, after hitting a 3-week closing high on Thursday.

Leading the declines, chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell 1.92 per cent and 3.49 per cent, respectively, while LG Chem tumbled 4.12 per cent.

A fire had broken out at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, the largest in Europe, during intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces but it has been extinguished, according to Ukraine's state emergency service.

On the main board, foreigners were net sellers of 585.9 billion won (S$655.3 million) worth of shares.

The Kospi index, however, rose 1.37 per cent on a weekly basis, the first weekly gain in 4.

At home, South Korea's consumer inflation accelerated to a near decade high in February, adding pressure on policymakers to raise interest rates amid surging oil prices due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Meanwhile, the country reported a daily record of 266,853 new Covid-19 cases, and record daily 186 deaths.

The won ended at 1,214.2 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, the lowest close since Jun 22, 2020 and down 0.79 per cent.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,214.5 per dollar, down 0.7 per cent, while in non-deliverable forward trading, its 1-month contract was quoted at 1,215.5.

In money and debt markets, March futures on 3-year treasury bonds rose 0.03 point to 108.15.

The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 1.4 basis points to 2.207 per cent. REUTERS