Seoul: Stocks mark lowest close in nearly 2 months on Omicron worries

[SEOUL] South Korean shares closed at their lowest in nearly 2 months on Monday (Nov 29), as worries about the Omicron coronavirus variant and its impact on the global economy sparked a sell-off.

The won closed flat, while the benchmark bond yield rose.

The benchmark KOSPI ended down 27.12 points, or 0.92 per cent, at 2,909.32, the lowest close since Oct 6. It tumbled as much as 1.55 per cent in early trade to hit its lowest level since January.

The Omicron variant spread around the world, with new cases found in the Netherlands, Denmark and Australia even as more countries imposed travel restrictions.

At home, South Korea reported 3,309 new coronavirus cases for Sunday (Nov 28), but no variant cases have been reported so far.

The global spread of the new variant may impact the country's strong run of exports growth. South Korean exports likely grew for a 13th straight month in November, according to a Reuters poll.

Among heavyweights, chip giant Samsung Electronics ended flat, while battery maker LG Chem and platform company Naver fell 1.25 per cent and 0.77 per cent, respectively.

On the main board, foreigners were net buyers of 38.7 billion won (S$44.4 million) worth of shares.

While the coronavirus variant lacks detailed data, traders are highly cautious over the strain's spread, global economy and possibility of worsening supply chain bottleneck, said Daishin Securities analyst Lee Kyoung-min.

The won ended at 1,193.0 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, nearly unchanged from its previous close.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,192.9, while in non-deliverable forward trading its 1-month contract was quoted at 1,193.2.

In money and debt markets, December futures on 3-year treasury bonds rose 0.10 points to 108.98.

The benchmark 10-year yield rose by 1.7 basis points to 2.27 per cent.

REUTERS