Seoul: Stocks slip from record high on profit-taking, snap five-day rally

[SEOUL] South Korean shares on Wednesday slipped from a record high, ending their five-day rally, as investors booked profits.

Both the won and the benchmark bond yield rose.

The benchmark Kospi ended lower by 16.22 points or 0.62 per cent at 2,601.54, after rising as high as 0.94 per cent earlier in the session.

Most heavyweights fell, with chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix edging down 1.6 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively.

South Korean drugmaker Celltrion surged as much as 24.7 per cent to a record high, and its affiliates also soared after the company announced completion of global patient recruitment for the Phase 2 trial of its Covid-19 antibody candidate, CT-P59.

Shares of local refineries SK Innovation and S-Oil jumped as oil prices surged to an eight-month high, while major shipbuilders also gained.

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Foreigners were net buyers for a 15th straight session, the longest buying streak since August 2016, purchasing net 134.5 billion won (S$162.5 million) worth of Kospi shares.

They have bought over net seven trillion won over the past 15 sessions.

"Given the losses from sectors that foreigners gobbled up, investors may book more profits toward the year end," said Daishin Securities' analyst Lee Kyoung-min.

The won was quoted at 1,108.9 per US dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.34 per cent higher than its previous close at 1,112.7.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,108.3 per dollar, up 0.2 per cent from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,107.5.

In money and debt markets, December futures for three-year treasury bonds fell 0.04 point to 111.65.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose 0.7 basis point to 0.972 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose 2.8 basis points to 1.628 per cent.

REUTERS