South Korea: Shares post worst day in a month as chipmakers drop
SOUTH Korean shares fell 1 per cent on Monday (Sep 18), dragged down by heavyweight chipmakers on worries about a weak recovery in demand. The won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.
The benchmark Kospi closed down 26.6 points, or 1 per cent, to 2,574.72. It was the biggest one-day loss since Aug 16.
Chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 2.5 per cent and posted its worst day since early April, while peer SK Hynix lost 2.8 per cent.
The world’s top contract chipmaker TSMC has told its major suppliers to delay the delivery of high-end chipmaking equipment as it grows increasingly nervous about customer demand, Reuters reported last Friday.
“There are worries about demand, but local chipmakers’ losses today were a bit excessive in the short term as semiconductor prices are rising nonetheless,” said Huh Jae-hwan, an analyst at Eugene Investment Securities.
Broadly, investor focus is on policy meetings of major central banks this week, most notably the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan.
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Among other index heavyweights, carmakers and online platform companies fell, while battery makers and biopharmaceutical manufacturers were mixed.
Samsung Biologics added 0.1 per cent on winning an order worth 321 billion won (S$330.4 million).
Of the total 936 traded issues, 330 shares advanced, while 551 declined.
Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 366.6 billion won on the main board for the day.
The won ended onshore trade at 1,324.4 per US dollar, 0.1 per cent higher than its previous close at 1,325.9.
In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.1 point to 103.04.
The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 3.5 basis points to 3.885 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 5.7 basis points to 3.985 per cent. REUTERS
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