Seoul: Stocks snap four-day rally as tech heavyweights slump

[SEOUL] South Korean shares snapped a four-session rally on Thursday, dragged down by a slump in major tech heavyweights.

The won gained, while the benchmark bond yield rose.

The benchmark Kospi fell 20.81 points, or 0.66 per cent, to 3,132.59 by 0227 GMT, after it clocked a 0.15 per cent gain a day earlier.

Leading declines on the benchmark were chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, tumbling 0.78 per cent and 2.79 per cent, respectively. Platform company Kakao and battery maker Samsung SDI also fell 0.82 per cent and 4.93 per cent, respectively.

Shares in SK Innovation slid more than 3 per cent after the company said its shareholders had approved a proposal to separate its battery business into a new company.

Foreigners were net sellers of 156.7 billion won (S$179.7 million) worth of shares on the main board.

The won was quoted at 1,168.3 per US dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.19 per cent higher than its previous close at 1,170.5.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,169.6 per US dollar, down 0.3 per cent from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,170.2.

In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.02 points to 110.21.

The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 0.5 basis points to 1.497 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 0.3 basis points to 2.027 per cent.

REUTERS