Seoul: Stocks fall as new virus curbs in Europe fuel growth concerns

[SEOUL] South Korean shares fell around 2 per cent on Tuesday, tracking losses in global equity markets as new coronavirus restrictions in Europe threatened to upend a nascent economic recovery. Both the won and the benchmark bond yield weakened.

By 0246 GMT, the benchmark Kospi dropped 46.34 points or 1.9 per cent to 2,343.05.

"Though the Covid-19 concerns are stabilising within the country, the UK economic lockdown measures have affected global financial markets," said Lee Jae Sun, analyst at Hana Financial Investment.

With Covid-19 infections on the rise in Europe, countries including Denmark, Greece and England have tightened curbs to stop the spread of the virus, hammering investor sentiment as new business restrictions could further pressure the economy.

Most of South Korea's market heavyweights slumped, with Samsung Electronics falling 1.2 per cent and SK Hynix down 2.1 per cent.

Meanwhile, LG Chem, a Tesla Inc supplier, soared as much as 5.1 per cent ahead of the electric-car maker's "Battery Day" event on hopes for increased battery cell purchases from Tesla.

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Samsung BioLogics was up 0.3 per cent after the company announced a long-term supply agreement with AstraZeneca.

South Korea reported 61 new coronavirus cases as of Monday midnight, lower than 70 a day earlier.

Foreigners were net sellers of 71.7 billion won (S$84 million) worth of shares on the main board.

The won was quoted at 1,164.1 per US dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.5 per cent lower than its previous close at 1,158.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,163.3 per US dollar, unchanged from the previous day, wwhile in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,163.4.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 0.9 basis point to 0.895 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 2.4 basis points to 1.469 per cent.

REUTERS